


Discovery

by snick_snack



Series: Discovery [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Emotions, Golden Deer Route, M/M, With hints of Church Route, exploring emotions, just please let me marry Seteth as a man pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2020-09-26 18:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 46
Words: 60,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20393830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snick_snack/pseuds/snick_snack
Summary: Byleth doesn't understand why he feels like this. Seteth is still wary.A lot of character exploration and sappy stuff to come. Follows canon with a few choice changes





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please Intsys, just let me S support Seteth

After tending to his students’ minor injuries and sending them off to bed, Byleth headed up to the infirmary. It was quiet down the hall, not unusual given the time of night. 

Seteth sat against the wall, quiet sounds of weeping echoing through the stone hallway. 

Byleth made an effort to step heavier, his boots alerting the man he was here. 

Seteth's head shot up, red, but relief flooding his eyes. "Professor! What are you doing here?" 

Byleth pointed to the infirmary. "I came to check on Flayn." 

"Manuela is up and watching her now. She seems to be alright, however." Seteth stood up, exhaustion evident in his body language. "She kicked me out and told me to rest. But, how can I? I'm meant to protect her, but they took her before I could even realize it." 

Byleth didn't know what to say. Not that he ever did. 

What was it his dad always said to people who they helped? 

"Sometimes the only way to protect someone is to ask for help." Byleth surprised even himself, saying that out loud.

Seteth's eyes widened. "I think that is the longest sentence I've ever heard from you. And to think you could be filled with such wisdom."

Byleth cut him off. "My dad says that." 

He laughed under his breath. "Of course." He peaked around the corner into the infirmary, seeing Flayn peacefully sleeping with Manuela reading next to her. "Well. I guess I should sleep." 

He went to walk past Byleth, but stopped, putting a firm hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, professor. From the bottom of my heart." 

Something flickered in his chest. The surprise of the emotion made him forget a verbal response, so he just nodded as Seteth walked into his office. 

Once Byleth was alone in the hallway, he touched his chest. No heartbeat like usual, but…. He didn't understand what that was. 

He tried reaching out to Sothis, but it seemed she was asleep, as usual. 

He shook it off. He would think about it in the morning. Instead, he peaked into the infirmary himself, nodded to Manuela and looked over Flayn and the other student. It was a brief moment of just standing at the foot of the bed, but he felt Manuela watching him, and he'd got what he came for. Confirmation the girl was okay and going to be fine. 

The walk back to his room seemed longer than usual. He was tired. That Death Knight was no joke.

He laid down in his room, staring at the ceiling, as he often did. Before he knew it, his exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he closed his eyes for the night.

\---

Now he was to have Flayn in his class. Seteth made a point to stop by every day in class, silently standing in the doorway, watching. 

Byleth was used to other professors and even some knights dropping by, but Seteth was a constant presence. It was getting to be a bit much.

Flayn pulled him aside one afternoon after class ended.

"Professor, can you please talk to my brother about not showing up all the time? It's very hard to concentrate!" She huffed. "And I don't need a constant guardian." 

Byleth just nodded and found himself at Seteth's office door, knocking, on his free day. 

Seteth called for him to come in. Stepping inside, Byleth immediately didn't want to be here. 

Battles he was good at. He had a threatening presence when he wanted or needed, so often he just had to set his face a certain way and that would be the end of a discussion. 

But he couldn’t threaten Rhea's right hand. And his new student's brother. 

Sothis gave him a mental smack on the back of his head and told him to suck it up.

"Ah, Professor. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Seteth looked up from his paperwork. 

"It's Flayn." 

"Ah yes, I've been listening in on your lectures. There’s no need to give me a progress report. I can see she's been a very active student. It's very good to see."

Time to rip off the bandage. "She asked me to tell you to stop coming by." 

"What?"

Byleth just stared at him, giving him a moment to process.

Seteth put his head in his hand and sighed. "I suppose I knew this was coming. She's been glaring at me when I come by." He shook his head. "I was just… so worried. What if something happens to her on missions?"

"Isn't that why she's in my class?"

It took him a moment to respond. "It is."

"Trust me, then." 

Seteth looked up at him. "I did say you were an ally…. I will try to leave her to her studies. It would… ease my mind, if we could chat regularly about it, though?" 

If it meant he could teach in peace. "Sure." 

"Excellent! So, we'll meet up once a week and you can tell me about what you're teaching her and how she’s doing.

Byleth closed his eyes for a second. Great. Was this really better? 

\---  
Flayn came to him the following morning before class started. 

"Did you talk to my brother, Professor?" She smiled widely when you nodded. "Oh wonderful! I will try even harder in your class now, Professor!" 

Maybe she didn't need to know.

True to her word, though, she did put a lot of effort into the classwork. She got on well with her new classmates and was participating well. 

And true to HIS word, Seteth came to his room the following free day. 

Far too early if you were to ask Byleth.

He answered the door in his sleep clothes, half expecting it to be his father. It wasn't.

"Seteth." 

"Good morning, Professor. Did I wake you?"

"Yes." 

"I have to say, I did not picture you as the type to sleep in. You seem to like your structure." 

Byleth shrugged. What did he say to that? He opened the door wider, letting Seteth come in. 

"I see you have not put any personal touches on your room."

"What would I put up?" Seteth didn't answer. 

Byleth went to sit on his bed, offering Seteth his desk chair. Seteth sat, almost too straight. 

"I realize I am being pushy, but you must understand how much I worry about Flayn. I do not like the idea of her going into battle as a student, even under the watch of a capable warrior such as yourself." 

"Would you rather she be defenseless?" 

"What?" Seteth gasped. "Are you suggesting--"

"Just a question." Byleth cut off his accusation. "Would you rather she be unable to defend herself or her friends?"

"No…."

"She does well in class. If you want, my lesson plan is on my desk. Along with marks." Byleth yawned. Really. The sun was barely up. 

Just as he was about to close his eyes, another knock came at the door. Of course. 

Opening the door revealed his father standing there. 

"Heya kid! Surprised to see you up so early!" He let himself in, pausing when he saw Seteth sitting at his son's desk. His eyes narrowed a fraction. "Ah, I'm interrupting something."

"Not really." Byleth fought a yawn. 

Jeralt glanced over at him. Seteth stood, smoothing out his robes. 

"Well, Professor, you've put my mind at ease. Your records have shown you put great detail into your teachings. Flayn seems to be in good hands." Seteth bowed to him. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He nodded to Jeralt and let himself out. 

"What was that about?" 

"He's worried about Flayn." 

"Oh, alright." 

"Did you also need something, dad?" 

"Oh yeah I was just gonna ask if you wanted to head into town with me this afternoon." Jeralt propped himself on the wall, watching Byleth settled himself back in his bed.

"Sure."

"Alright then. I'll let you get back to sleep then. Seteth must have woken you up early." There was something in his voice but Byleth didn't care to figure it out right now. He just nodded and laid back down when the door clicked closed again.


	2. Chapter 2

The trip into town was mostly silent, as it usually was with the two of them. Neither were very talkative, and their 'bonding time' as others called it, was usually just doing something simple silently next to each other. 

The two just browsed through the stalls at the town marketplace. There were some beautiful trinkets, all based on stories from Seiros. But trinkets were pretty useless. 

Jeralt picked up a small pin. It was of a flower he'd once seen growing on one of their missions. 

"This was one of your mother's favorites." Jeralt said quietly. "I brought her this, along with the ring, when I asked her to be with me." 

Byleth wondered if he could grow that flower in the greenhouse. 

Jeralt ended up buying the pin. 

\---

After roaming the marketplace for a good while, the two found a small teahouse to have a drink in. Jeralt had wanted a tavern, but he said all the taverns in town were terrible. So, the tiny teahouse was it.

The tea was alright, and although he wasn't too fond of sweets, the cookies were too. 

"Are you gonna tell me what you were really doing with Seteth this morning?" Jeralt said as he set his cup down. 

Byleth just furrowed his eyebrows at him. What did that mean? 

Jeralt sighed. "I guess we never had any reason to talk about this before. I know I told you about how I loved your mother, so much so it still hurts to talk about her all these years later, but never about… intimacy?" 

Now he was definitely lost.

"You never showed any interest in anyone before. So, I never felt a need to bring it up. How to treat someone in a relationship, how to protect yourself, and them, and all that." 

He knew he had a weird expression on but couldn't pull it back.

"And now I wonder if I'm too late. I taught you to wield a sword and fight but not to--"

He had to say something. "What are you talking about?"

"What?"

"Exactly. Why are you telling me this?"

"You…. And Seteth? The Flayn thing was clearly a cover up?" 

"What would I cover up?" He took a drink. This was more talking than he liked to do. 

Jeralt eyed him for a moment. "Youve never been one to hide things…. There's really nothing else?" 

"Dad." 

"Fine, fine," he put his hands up. "But when it finally does happen, please tell me. I don't know much about sex with men, but I'm sure it's not too different."

Oh. 

That's what he meant. 

"Okay." He just agreed so he could stop thinking about it. He'd have to work out his father's thought process later in his room. 

The two finished up their trip, Jeralt making a point to watch Byleth more closely than usual. He was obviously looking for something in his behavior but Byleth couldn't figure out what.

He'd done this after his first mission too. Jeralt had wanted to talk about him taking a life for the first time, but Byleth hadn't understood why they needed to. It was a job to protect a village, that was it. He remembered his dad mumbling something about 'not normal' but had brushed it off at the time.

It was true he didn't experience very strong emotions, but even he had some. He knew he loved his dad. He knew he felt a touch of sadness and longing in front of his mother's grave. He knew he was fond of his students, even the troublemakers. He knew cats made his heart soar and watching flowers grow made him happy. 

But what emotion led to sex? 

He almost asked, but they arrived back at the monastery gates. Jeralt waved goodnight to him and headed off to his quarters. 

Back on his room, he sat in his desk chair, trying to work out tomorrow's lesson.

But why did his dad think he wanted to be with Seteth? That's what he didn't understand. The way he described feeling for his mother was… intense. At least, for him. Is that what it took? An intense emotion? 

This was getting to be too much. He couldn't think like this. 

Taking his notebook and a pen, Byleth set out for the cemetery. Since finding out about his mother, he'd started visiting regularly and found it to be a nice quiet spot when all the people got to be too much. 

He sat in front of his mother's headstone, lingering on the faded name for a moment, before turning back to his lessons. It was much easier to work out here, the sound of crickets and leaves in the wind soothed his racing mind. 

The lesson had been finished for a while before he stood up again. If he didn’t sleep now, he'd regret it. 

Lying in bed, he knew he'd have to find an answer for this. Learn how to feel it. But that was an issue for after class tomorrow. 

\---

Class went by fast for the following week. His students were always attentive, and now, with the month coming to an end, the coming month would bring them to possibly the biggest mission in their student lives. Byleth looked forward to seeing them in action that wouldn't result in them dying if they messed up. 

He hadn’t had another chance to talk with his father. His knightly duties took him into the Alliance this week.

For now, he decided he’d figure it out later.

Saturday night found him on the dock, his line in the water. The basket next to him was already full, but he didn’t feel like packing it all up yet. He’d just throw the next few catches back in the water. 

“Good evening, professor!” Flayn’s voice came from behind him. 

He turned to see her walking toward him. She had a smile on her face, like she usually did. 

“You’re quite the fisherman.” She eyed his basket of fish. “Did you catch all these?” 

“I did.” 

Flayn took the response as an offer to sit next to him. Not that he cared. Students often just sat next to him. “Did Captain Jeralt teach you to fish?” 

“He did.” 

There was a tug on his line, and Byleth braced himself, setting the hook and beginning to reel the fish in. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Flayn watching intently next to him. He pulled the fish in, and Flayn gawked over it. 

“Did you know fish is my favorite food, professor?” 

“You mentioned it once, yes.”

“My brother said he’s going to have a monastery wide fishing competition at the start of next month! Just so we can catch my favorite fish and cook it.” Flayn almost looked to be drooling. Byleth just laughed internally as he removed the hook from the fish’s mouth and measured him before tossing him back. The fish splashed in the water and swam off. 

“He cares a lot about you.” Byleth hoped tomorrow wouldn’t end up like last week, with Seteth at his door at sunrise. 

“I know. I originally came over here to thank you properly for getting him to leave me to my studies. I can’t believe he actually listened to you.” 

Byleth sighed. “I had to agree to give him progress reports on my day off.” 

“Professor!” Flayn groaned. “He’s so overprotective! It’s just a classroom!” 

Byleth didn’t understand the sibling dynamic, but he also didn’t understand their situation very well. Flayn said certain things that made him wonder about her life before the monastery. And his father had said they weren’t there when he was last here either. Flayn certainly didn’t look over twenty, but who could really know. He had his own suspicions. 

“It keeps him out of the classroom.” Byleth just shrugged. 

Flayn made some unintelligible sound at that. 

“I’ll work on it.” He promised her. It was unlikely he wouldn’t just find some other way to make sure everything was smooth. But he was a professor now. How did it end up like this…?


	3. Chapter 3

The fishing tournament was in full swing. At least half the students and most of the knights not on assignment were at the pond, casting their lines and reeling in as many fish as they could get. 

Flayn stood on the sidelines watching excitedly, cheering whenever someone seemed to get a bite. Seteth stood up by dining hall, watching from the stairs. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits after being on guard for so long. 

He watched as Byleth came down to the pond, a little late, but talked to Flayn and the fish keeper all the same, before finding a place and tossing his own line out there. Seteth had watched him fish before and found it odd just how still he stood when waiting for a bite. Today was no different. 

He just stood there. It barely looked like he was breathing. It was no wonder he was regarded as something of a demon during his mercenary days. If he held his sword with the same steadiness….

And as quick as Seteth could blink, Byleth was reeling in a fish. After a short fight, he kneeled down to pull it from the water, the fish thrashing about. Even from here, he could tell that it was a big fish. He turned to Flayn, who jumped up and down excitedly and took the fish from him, running directly toward Seteth and the dining hall.

Flayn looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. “Father, look! My favorite fish! The professor caught it! And its so big!” 

“Well, we’ll have to thank him. Why don’t you take it to the chef and have her cook it up?” That was one thing he couldn’t fault Byleth for. He always had a way with making others happy. 

Looking back out to the pond, Byleth was still fishing, though he had taken a seat now. A few of his other students crowded around him, either fishing themselves, or just sitting nearby to talk. 

Shamir strolled up the stairs. “This was a good idea, Seteth. Everyone was getting too wound up.”

“Thank you. It is good to see everyone enjoy themselves.” She just nodded and headed off into the dining hall. 

He knew Flayn was going to run out as soon as that fish was done cooking and drag him in to help her eat it. But something drew him down to the pond. 

“Professor.” He called out before he could even think about it.

Byleth turned from his rod to look up at him. He could feel the students studying him. It wasn’t often he ventured out around them. 

“Flayn is quite happy with your catch. Perhaps you would care to partake in eating it with us?” 

He simply nodded, reeled his line back, and stood up. He nodded to his students, who waved to their professor.

Flayn was sitting at a table close to the kitchen, an excited grin on her face. She turned to see Seteth and the professor walking together and smiled brighter.

“Professor! Are you joining us for dinner?” 

“Yes. Seteth invited me.” 

“Oh, excellent! The chef informed the fish you caught is almost done! I can’t wait to eat it with you, professor!” 

Seteth watched the small smile come to Byleth’s face at Flayn’s excitement. To anyone else it might have seemed like his normal face, but his eyebrows were less set than usual. His stone face did change….

Sharing a meal with his daughter and her professor proved to be noisy. Only because Flayn insisted on talking the professor’s ear off. He didn’t verbally respond a great deal, but he did nod or shake his head in the right spots, and that seemed to be enough for her.

Seteth had watched him teach and complete any task Lady Rhea asked of him, but he’d never taken the time to truly watch him outside of that setting. He was attentive to Flayn and all her excited rambling about fish species and dishes. He was very popular among the students and even most of the knights. Perhaps he’d need to make more time to truly get to know Byleth. 

\---

On one of his nightly walks, Seteth saw Byleth sitting alone on one of the benches close to the cemetery, a large black and white cat sitting in his lap. The cat seemed very content, curled up as his hand stroked its fur. 

He didn’t move as Seteth stepped closer. 

“Good evening, Professor.” 

Byleth turned his head slightly, nodding to him. He took his free hand and motioned for him to sit.

“Oh no, I still have much work to do. I’m just out for a stroll.” 

Byleth raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged. The cat in his lap stood up and stretched, before padding around a few times and laying back down. Byleth watched the cat, a kind of light in his eyes. 

“You like cats.” 

Byleth looked back up. “I do.” 

“You must quite enjoy all the animals we take in here, then.” 

“I do.” Byleth stroked the cat under its chin, a small smile on his face. “This sweet girl’s name is Salt.” 

He named the cat? “Salt?”

“She likes when I’ve just eaten salty food. She tries to lick it off.” 

It seemed talking about cats was the way to get him talking. 

Seteth contemplated taking the seat next to him. Was it too late? He had just declined. 

“She seems very sweet.” 

“She is. She usually follows me around in the evenings. Sometimes she likes to sleep in my room.” 

Seteth hadn’t noticed that. Just what had he noticed about him? 

The new professor had always seemed so suspicious. The child of a man who’d run away after seemingly faking his own death. He was quiet and didn’t show emotions openly. Any emotion. He was abnormally strong, and had quite the reputation among even people he had worked with. 

And yet his students loved him. Seteth’s own daughter loved him. She told him every night about what she learned from him and how attentive he was when she had an issue. The knights would often seek him out as a sparring partner. He’d overheard many of them talking about how he would beat them, and then instruct them.

He seemed like such a strange figure. But Seteth had finally come to the conclusion they were on the same side. 

He was a mystery. 

Seteth wasn’t much for mysteries, but something about this one called to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying really hard to pace myself, cuz i don't wanna get to excited and mess up the first part just to get to the part i want to write lol uuuuugh


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All these comments are so nice!!! Ya'll are so kind~~

The Battle of the Eagle and Lion went exceptionally well. Byleth’s class had won cleanly, his students following his commands to letter, their weapon handling far superior to the other students. 

The feast that followed after was average, as far as food went, but the students treated it like it was biggest festival of their lives. Byleth watched from a corner of the dining hall as students from all three houses laughed and talked with each other. 

Manuela and Hanneman joined him for part of the meal, praising him on his students’ success. They just wouldn’t hear his praises of their students, either. 

They left him a while later, choosing to retire for night. Byleth found he wasn’t very tired just yet and chose to stay for the festivities a while longer. 

“Good evening, professor.” A familiar voice came from the end of his table. 

That had seemed to turn into Seteth’s standard greeting. They’d been running into each other after nightfall more and more. Or rather, Byleth would simply be out, and Seteth would come to him. Or happen upon him. He wasn’t sure.

Either way, he enjoyed the company it brought. 

Byleth nodded to him, as he always did, and offered him a seat. Seteth took it without question now. 

“I’d like to commend you for a job well done. Your students have grown tremendously. It was quite a pleasure to watch them battle.”

“Thank you.” Byleth answered simply.

“And you. I have never seen you in action before. You command every part of the battle field with such certainty.” 

Having the praise directed at him was too much. Especially from Seteth. His chest tightened up a bit and Byleth had to look away for a moment. It was too much.

He could feel Sothis in the back of his head, teasing him about something. But he couldn’t pay attention to her right now. She’d also yell at him if he wasn’t present in the conversation. 

He looked back and saw Seteth had a slight smile on his face, his eyes warm and inviting. Byleth had to take a deep breath and try to focus on what he was saying again. 

“The Battle of the Eagle and Lion is always one of my favorite parts of any year, but this one was the best I have witnessed since coming here to the academy.” Seteth continued on. 

“It was fun.” Byleth tried to offer a smile back, but forcing it always made him look strange. But Seteth’s face didn’t move. Maybe he was getting the hang of it. 

They fell into a comfortable silence, Byleth picking at the few items left on his plate. Seteth had his own that he was eating quietly.

He caught himself staring longer than he should have, and quickly turned his gaze out one of the many windows. Night had long since fallen, and a few stars were visible from the building. 

His father was set to return from his mission within the next few days. He’d put off talking about his emotional breakthrough until after Jeralt was assigned a new mission. He’d have to talk to him about it soon. Sothis was no help with this kind of thing, being just as clueless. 

“I have a question, Professor.” 

Byleth turned away from the window and looked at him.

“Do you miss your life as a mercenary?” 

Byleth thought about it for a moment. He had never had any real attachment to the job. It just got him food and shelter. It was just a way to make it in the world. His father was good at fighting, so he was taught to be good at fighting, and they made their living that way. 

“I don’t think so.”

“You always have such vague answers.” Seteth shook his head, used to it by now. “Why don’t you think so?”

“It was just a way to eat and sleep safely.” Byleth shrugged. “Dad did it, so I followed.” 

“You had no desire to be one?” 

Byleth shook his head. “I simply did as my father asked of me.” 

“What did you want to do?” 

“I don’t know.” He looked back over the students. Did he enjoy this job? He wasn’t sure. He liked his students, but he still hadn’t chose this. It was yet another thing he’d just gone with because others wanted him to.

Seteth didn’t press him any further. That was fine with him. He liked sitting in silence with him.

Glancing around the hall, most of the students were picking up the mess and getting ready to head in for the night. After such a tough fight, he was surprised more weren’t dragging under exhaustion. 

Seteth stood up himself. “Well, I must bid you good night, Professor. Sleep well.” He carried his plate to get cleaned and walked back toward his quarters. 

Byleth did the same, laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It was the same as every month so far. He built up to one big thing, only to have it end and undoubtedly the following morning, another big thing would happen that needed his attention. It was a cycle that was exhausting honestly. Not bad, just exhausting. 

\---

It seemed the celebrations would continue into the morning. His class was rowdy and since he didn’t have much of a goal in mind for the following month yet, he just let them be for now. A few came up with questions about whatever they were studying in their free time, but passed that, it was an unproductive week. 

Saturday afternoon, he was sitting at his desk in his classroom, going over some paperwork. He’d let his students out early, choosing instead to catch up on his own work. 

The heavy clink of armored boots echoed through the room, causing him to look up. Jeralt stood there, his travel pack still on his back.

“Heya kid. You busy?” 

Byleth looked at his stack of papers for a moment before shaking his head. 

Jeralt laughed. “You sure about that?” 

Byleth shifted a book over on top of the stack. “I don’t want to do it.” He stood up, making his way to the doorway. 

“You aren’t getting lazy on me, are you, kid?” Jeralt put his arm around his shoulders. “Anyway, if you really aren’t busy, lets go grab something to eat, my treat.” 

Byleth nodded. 

“Let’s meet up at the gates in an hour, yeah? Let me put my stuff away.” Jeralt clapped him om the shoulder before heading back to his office. 

He turned back to his classroom. He’d leave his paperwork to the last minute, he supposed. Or tomorrow on his day off. He shuffled a few papers into the drawers at his desk and walked back to his own room to grab his things.

Jeralt had found this hole-in-the-wall restaurant ran by an elderly woman and her two daughters. He said the food was good, and well, Byleth wasn’t too picky on those things. 

“So, I heard you won the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. That’s pretty impressive, kid.” 

“Thank you.” 

“You know, By, it’s kind of amazing to see you work with them. It’s almost like you’re a different person now that we’ve been here for a while.” Jeralt leaned back in his chair, swirling the contents of his glass thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, you just seem happy.” Jeralt shrugged, pausing for a minute. “When you were a kid, you were always so… silent. When you hadn’t said anything after a few years, I figured you’d never talk. And then when you did, you always just seemed to tolerate me because I was your father.”

Byleth frowned. He didn’t like that. “You’re my dad.”

Jeralt laughed at his simple response. “Of course I am, kid. I’m just telling you how I felt. We’re both adults now. We can have chats about this sort of thing.” 

“Oh.” Their food chose that moment to arrive. His dad was right, it was pretty good. 

The two spent the next few minutes eating in silence. Byleth looked around the dining area. It wasn’t a busy night. He and his dad were the only other guests besides a couple over in the opposite corner. 

“Dad.” Jeralt paused his knife. “You… how… uh….” Byleth couldn’t figure out how to word this. It’s not like he was good with them to begin with.

“Whoa, you never stutter like this.” His dad reached across the table to hold his shoulder. “You feeling okay, kid?” 

“What we were talking about the other day….” Byleth frowned. Why was it being so difficult? He’d talked about way worse things before with no problem. 

Maybe it was just that, this was completely new to him. And his dad had seemed a bit awkward about it the other day too. And everyone got that way. He didn’t know what was happening.

“Oh, that.” Jeralt gave him a warm smile. That made this a bit easier. “Have you figured it out?”

“No. That’s the problem.” 

“I see. Well, is it with your green haired friend?” 

“I think so?” 

“Well, tell me about him. I really haven’t spent too much time with the guy.” 

Byleth thought for a minute. “He’s protective.” 

“Is that it?” 

He shook his head. He just wasn’t sure what to say. Seteth was a lot of things.

“He told me I did good at the Battle of the Eagle and Lion.” 

“So you like him because he praises you? Didn’t know you were so vein, kiddo.” Jeralt laughed at the look that came over Byleth’s face. “I’m teasing. That’s what fathers do to kids who have a crush.” 

“A crush?” 

“Especially their first crush. Even if that happens at your age.” 

“But do I like him like that?” Byleth asked. He knew his dad didn’t understand his problems with feeling emotions, but he couldn’t just tell him he barely felt anything. At least before the monastery. 

“I can’t answer that for you. Only you can.” 

Byleth stopped himself from groaning. Why was this frustrating? “But I don’t understand.” 

“Give it time, By. You’ll get it.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Give it time, By. You’ll get it.”

That’s the same thing he’d said about axes. When Byleth was young, he’d picked up the sword fairly easily. The axe not so much. He’d worked at it for months before his dad would finally spar him with it. 

But this wasn’t an axe. This wasn’t a material thing he could just practice until he figured it out. He couldn’t just hit a dummy until it sorted itself out. And what was the end goal? What did you do after you figured out these feelings? 

This was endlessly frustrating. 

He was in the training hall early one morning, running through his forms, his mind silent for the first time in weeks. One powerful thrust ended with his sword at his father’s throat. 

Jeralt’s face didn’t change, nor did Byleth’s. After a few seconds, he pulled his blade back. Even with his training sword, that would have hurt. 

“Byleth. Have you heard the rumor?” 

“Of?”

Jeralt didn’t answer, just turned and motioned for him to follow. 

They ended up in Manuela’s infirmary. She and Shamir seemed to be talking about some disease that had popped up. 

“You’re talking about Remire Village, aren’t you?” He heard his dad say. 

What? The disease was in Remire? But he had just been there. Or it felt that way. His dad kept talking but his mind was elsewhere. He didn’t have any particular attachment to the village, but he knew his father had enjoyed their time there and made many friends. 

Rhea then assigned his class to help investigate. They were to set out in the next few weeks after Manuela finished up her tests and Hanneman had a look at all of it as well. The knights that were free would be out collecting samples and talking to refugees.

In the meantime, Byleth just had to go about his teaching as usual. 

About a week after getting his new assignment, he was back in the training hall, this time late at night. He couldn’t sleep and a walk hadn’t helped, so he decided to just physically wear himself out.

He was about halfway through his routine when he heard the doors creak open. Glancing over, it was Seteth, carrying a dull training lance in his hand. His head was down, watching the steps down. He watched as Seteth shuffled toward a corner of the arena, still not noticing him. 

“Seteth.” 

Seteth’s body stiffened. He turned around slowly. “Ah, Professor.” 

The two stared at each other for a moment. Seteth’s green hair almost glowed in the low light the candles gave off. How interesting. 

“What are you doing out so late?” Byleth found himself asking. His mouth ran before his brain could register it. That was a first.

“I could ask you the same, Professor.” 

“Can’t sleep.” 

“It is the same for me. This business with Remire Village is leaving me quite troubled. I thought I’d take up my lance to work out my stresses.” He sighed. “Jeralt told us that you and he have connections to the village? Is that the cause your restless night as well?” 

Byleth thought for a minute. “I don’t think so. Sometimes I just can’t sleep.” Usually it was because Sothis wouldn’t stop running over ideas in his head. Tonight was no different. She was upset about Remire, and he wasn’t sure how he felt. 

But he couldn’t really tell Seteth that. Even his father had looked at him strange when he had asked him about it. 

However, Seteth was a holy man. He wondered if he’d know of a story of this happening before. 

“I see.” He turned away, shifting his grip on his lance.

Part of Byleth wondered what he thought of him. Judging by the way he almost seemed to seek him out for company, especially in the evenings, he at least didn’t find him suspicious anymore. Maybe they were almost friends? 

People were hard. Is this why he avoided them before coming here? 

Byleth shook himself out of his thoughts. “Do you want to spar?” 

“I’m quite positive you would beat me. You are a mercenary. I live a rather peaceful life here in the monastery. It is clear who is stronger.” 

Was this what disappointment felt like? Byleth felt something fall in his chest. He didn’t know why he asked. He was quite content to just go though his forms. But sparring with Seteth would have been enjoyable. 

“Okay.” Byleth lined himself back up to continue with his last set. 

He forced himself back into his training. The upset feeling he’d had briefly faded away. He didn’t have to wonder what certain feelings were when he had a sword in his hand. 

Byleth finished his final set, lowering his sword. He took a deep breath before going to put the training sword back on the rack in the corner. Looking around, Seteth was in the corner doing his own sets. 

It was only now that he noticed he wasn’t wearing his typical robes. It made sense. It was well into the night. Even Byleth was out of his armor. 

No, he wasn’t going to just stare at Seteth, who may or may not be his friend. He already had too much to think about tonight. 

He made his way to the door, looking back one more time. Seteth was still in his zone. Byleth almost spoke up to say goodnight, but he thought better of it and just left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now that we're getting closer to timeskip territory, I figure its time to mention that even tho I'm trying to keep the house Byleth chose vague, it's the Golden Deer. I'm currently working through Blue Lions rn, and the only other route i've completed is the Empire route. But it'll still remain kind of vague after all that, so feel free to imagine~
> 
> Also, if yall ever wanna hmu feel free on twitter @snick_snack_ or on tumblr @ myswordhandtwitches.tumblr.com. I dont post much on tumblr, but i am drawing 3h comics rn so those are fun lol
> 
> Thanks as always for the lovely comments!


	6. Chapter 6

His head was spinning. So much had happened during his time in Remire Village. Seeing semi-familiar faces white eyed, barely human anymore was horrifying. Byleth had seen a lot of things during his time as a mercenary, but never something as disgusting as that had been. 

Refugees had followed them back to the monastery, some blaming he and his class for being too late. Byleth knew that if they’d gone to Remire earlier, those mages would have just chosen another town they couldn’t get to as fast. And hurt just as many people.

But he had known some of them. His father had known most of them. To say Jeralt was upset was an understatement. He had barely said anything on the way back. And once they were within the gates, he had left for his quarters immediately. Byleth had had to do the debrief with Rhea and Seteth alone. 

That Flame Emperor too. He was a suspicious character, but also felt, disturbingly familiar. 

Byleth finished up with Rhea and went to check on his father. He knocked once the closed door to his office, but no response came. Opening the door revealed he wasn’t there. 

Jeralt had probably gone on a walk. Or maybe to the knights’ grounds. 

On his way there, he noticed a familiar figure in the grass below the walkway. Dad was at his mother’s grave again. 

Byleth walked down the stairs silently, but his dad still knew he was there. Jeralt just gave him a glance and then turned back to the headstone.

“You might not remember, but when you were a baby, you’d stay with a family there in Remire when I had jobs that were too dangerous to carry you along for.” Jeralt said. “They were an elderly couple who took care of their granddaughter after her mother died of illness.”

Byleth thought back. He did vaguely remember a brown-haired girl with pigtails yelling at him. 

“They’ve been gone for a few years now, and the granddaughter married and left, so they weren’t injured in all… that. But it did make me think of them.” 

He didn’t have anything to say. He knew his dad didn’t expect him to, anyway. 

“Anyway, kid, you ought to go eat something and take care of those students of yours. I’m sure they’re upset over what happened.” 

Byleth just nodded. That was Jeralt’s hint that he wanted to be left alone. 

\---

Evening was quickly descending upon the monastery. After checking on his students, most of them just went to bed for the night, others insisting they would just train a bit before going to sleep. He knew they were shaken up, but if sleep made it better, then he’d let them. He wasn’t exactly skilled with comforting words, anyway. 

He sat alone himself, staring out at the fishing pond. His pole was next to him, along with a few snails and insects he had planned to use as bait, but he didn’t feel like baiting the pole. 

“Professor. This isn’t your usual spot.” And there was Seteth. He should have known he’d end up finding him still.

“Seteth.” Byleth motioned to the ground beside him. 

Seteth hadn’t turned him down since that first meeting. It was something small, and they didn’t always have conversations, but it was still nice to sit next to the man.

Especially today.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened today.” He saw Seteth eye the unbaited pole suspiciously. “I know Captain Jeralt has taken it quite hard.” 

“My dad knew the people of Remire well.” Byleth stared at his hands. “I never did.”

“You sound like you regret that.” It wasn’t a question.

Did he regret it? Maybe. But it also had sparred him the pain his father was feeling. But then again, didn’t he just imitate his father in most things anyway? 

“I don’t understand how my dad feels.” 

“Well, that’s to be expected if you didn’t—”

Byleth cut him off. “About anything. Not just Remire.” 

Byleth couldn’t help the frustration that bubbled up in his chest. He didn’t understand these feelings towards Seteth. He didn’t understand all the sadness around Remire. He didn’t understand what his students felt. And he couldn’t get any of them stop feeling those things. 

He kept his face passive, however. Same as always. 

“I don’t even understand what I feel.” Byleth stood abruptly, leaving his pole by the pond and going back to his room.

\---

Seteth watched him leave, in as much as a huff as he thinks the man would be capable off. That was… uncharacteristic of him. His face and tone had remained even and unreadable, but he stormed off. 

He was a strange one, that Byleth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK if any of ya'll like xenoblade BUT HOW BOUT THAT HD PORT HUH???? 
> 
> Anyway a bit shorter cuz thats where it felt like ending. As always, thanks for the comments! They make my day and I hope all of you are having a great one!


	7. Chapter 7

A ball. 

Byleth was no stranger to parties. Mercenaries loved gathering at the local tavern after a mission to drink and sing. He typically sat in the corner during such events, until it was acceptable for him to leave. 

He didn’t care for those events, but before he hadn’t cared for anything. 

This wasn’t a mercenary party, however. This was a formal event. This was something nobles had on the regular. Children were taught to dance properly for these events. 

He was a professor. Maybe he could get away with not dancing.

In the back of his mind, he knew that was never going to happen. He knew his students would force him out there.

“Professor!” Flayn’s voice came up behind him, her footsteps picking up to catch him. 

He turned to give her a small smile. 

“I heard the ball is coming up!” She appeared to be almost vibrating with excitement. “Are you excited, professor? Have you ever been to one?”

Byleth shook his head. “I wouldn’t say I’m excited.” 

Her face fell. “What? Why not?” 

“I’m not one for parties.” 

“But, there will be dancing! And the band is really good! Fancy dresses, food, drinks.” Flayn listed them all off her fingers. “It’ll be so much fun!”

Byleth decided it was just easier to humor her. “Sure.” He said, shrugging. He doubted any amount of convincing would make him excited for this event. At least the mercenaries knew to leave him in his corner. 

Flayn was only being her usual sweet self. It wasn’t her fault he didn’t like parties. 

“Anyway, professor. I came over to give you these!” She held up a small drawstring bag to him. 

Taking the bag, he pulled the string to look inside. They were cookies. He looked back to her, confused.

“They’re a thank you gift! For helping us on the beach!” 

Recently, he had been dragged, or rather volunteered, to help Seteth fight off some western church followers from a sacred place. Him coming along was the only way Flayn would have been allowed to go, so he let her volunteer him. 

Not that he ever needed much reason to find a reason to spend time with Seteth.

It would have been nice to not have to fight, however. And to not have his whole class behind him, either.

After they’d removed them, Seteth and Flayn revealed that they were actually father and daughter. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d known that. He’d never had a sibling, but something about the relationship they had didn’t say sibling. 

It has also brought up a weird realization that Seteth had been married. He had had a wife. Who he had a child with. 

He tried to not think about it.

Coming back to the present, he just looked at Flayn. 

“I didn’t know if you actually liked sweets, but everyone likes cookies! My father helped me make them!”

“Oh. Thank you.” He’d heard rumors about Flayn’s cooking, but never tried it for himself. 

She stared at him, smile on her face, waiting. He slowly put one in his mouth. 

Byleth knew he didn’t like sweets but was it supposed to be so… sour? Why was a cookie sour? Jeralt had made him cookies once when he was young, and they had been bad, but this? This was awful. He almost wanted to spit it out.

Sometimes, Byleth was thankful for the emotionless face he wore. 

“Do you like it, Professor?” Flayn’s eyes lit up when he’d bit into the cookie. 

He knew she’d be upset if he told the truth, so he didn’t. He just nodded. 

“I will save the rest for tonight.” He told her.

She squealed happily. “Oh, wonderful! I’ll have to tell my father you liked them so much! I’ll make you some more sometime, professor! Maybe I can use different ingredients and make an even better cookie for you!” She started mumbling to herself as she walked away. 

Later that evening, he was out by the front gates, chatting with the gatekeeper. He was overly friendly, but a genuinely good guy. Byleth made a habit of coming to speak to him when he had the time. He always had all the news from the monastery and from the town below. 

“Professor, have you heard about the Goddess Tower?” When Byleth shook his head, the gatekeeper’s face lit up with the chance to gossip. “It’s believed among the students that if you bring someone special,” he waggled his eyebrows at the word special, “and make a vow, its bound to come true!” 

“Someone special.” Byleth thought for a minute. 

“Yeah! Like someone you have romantic type feelings for. That person who gives you all the fuzzy feelings.” The gatekeeper laughed to himself. “I invited a girl once, but she turned me down. I was heartbroken.”

The gatekeeper shook off the sad thought. “Anyway, professor, it’s just a thing the students like to spread around. But it is a fun thought. Who would you invite?” 

Byleth shrugged. He wasn’t willing to say it out loud. But thinking of green hair in the moonlight….

“Oh, I know! You’d ask Seteth to go with you!” Byleth kept the shock off his face, but he felt his muscles tense. “I always see you walking with him in the evenings. You always look so happy around him.” 

He stared at the gatekeeper. He laughed and held his hands up. “Hey, it’s my job to observe everyone. Don’t get mad at me!” 

“I’m not mad.” 

“Sure, sure. Promise me you’ll at least ask him to dance, though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally getting into the part I'm super excited to write. 
> 
> All of you who are talking about Jeralt, we got at least two happy chapters before all that. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy~


	8. Chapter 8

Jeralt laughed at him when he mentioned dancing. “Maybe I’ll end up coming to this ball. Just to see you get dragged around by a bunch of kids.” He joked. “I’ve never even seen you drink, kid, I really can’t imagine you at a whole ball.” 

“I don’t know how to dance.” 

“If you’re asking me to teach you, that’d be a bad idea. I can’t dance either.” 

“I wasn’t. I’ve seen you dance.” It wasn’t a pretty sight. 

Jeralt shot him a joking glare. Byleth let a small grin come to his face, making his dad laugh again. Byleth liked this. Laughing with his dad. Or his dad laughing and him just enjoying things with him. 

There was a knock on the wall by his dad’s office door. Both of them turned to see who it was.

One of the knights that worked under his father was standing there. “Sir. Lady Rhea would like to speak with you.” 

Jeralt sighed and stood up. “Alright, I’ll be there in a few.” The knight nodded and walked off. He turned back to his son. “We’ll have to talk more later. I still need to…. Yeah.” He stopped himself from saying something.

Byleth just nodded and stood up himself. He knew his father was probably being sent out on a mission now. So, it’d be a while before he saw him again. 

Jeralt picked up something from his desk and nodded to Byleth before he left the room. 

As he walked out himself, Byleth saw Seteth sitting in his office, looking over a paper of some kind. He wanted to say hello, but he was probably busy.

Just as he was about to walk away, he heard a “ah, professor!” stopping him. He turned back to see Seteth waving him in. 

“Seteth.” 

“What are you doing up here? Did you have business in the library?” 

“My dad.” Byleth corrected him, stepping in his office. He stood just inside the door, trying not to glance around too much. He’d been in here before, but he always felt invasive in this office. “Thank you for the cookies.” 

“Cookies?”

“Flayn said you helped her cook them.”

Seteth froze. He slowly put his pen down. “She… did not tell me she was going to give those to you.” His hand came to his face. “We are not the best at baking. That batch of cookies was quite awful, in my opinion.” 

Byleth had to stop himself from agreeing. That was rude. He had tried to eat another one later as he was grading papers and almost spit it out on his floor. 

“Your silence says you agree.” Woops. “I only know the very basics of cooking, and Flayn has never really picked up on anything.” 

“It’s fine.” Byleth watch him shuffle around his papers. “I don’t like sweets anyway.” 

Seteth looked up at him for a moment before standing. “Professor, have you eaten yet?” 

Byleth shook his head. It was still early for lunch, but he hadn’t cared for breakfast this morning either. 

“Would you care to join me for an early lunch?” 

“Okay.” He barely thought about it. 

Their walk down to the dining hall was silent. Usually when they’d happen on walks together, Seteth would just talk about something small bothering him that day. Byleth would just agree or shrug, being not much of a talker himself, but he liked it. But they hadn’t really talked since the other day, when he walked off thinking about Remire. 

Once they had gotten their plates in the dining hall, Seteth walked out the door to the fishing pond. Odd. Byleth followed him.

Seteth found a spot by the greenhouse. Byleth had never noticed this small worn table and chairs before. It was hidden around the corner from a few larger bushes, and right on the pond’s edge. 

Byleth sat across from him, the chair creaking with age. It was quiet over here. Probably one of the quietest places in the monastery.

“I often come here to fish, or just to relax.” Seteth broke the silence finally. “You seem to be stressed lately, professor. So here we are.” 

Was he stressed? Sure, things were kind of intense lately, but now that Remire was in the past, he didn’t have to think about it. He supposed he was kind of dreading this ball, but it wasn’t something he could turn away from.

And now students were talking about graduation. 

“I know you probably aren’t the type to talk of such things, but please, if you need, I am here.” 

Byleth looked at him. His face was kind and open and he wanted to talk to him. But he didn’t have anything to say. 

“Thanks.” Byleth looked away. “Classes are a lot sometimes.” 

“Well, professor. You are more than capable of leading these students.” Seteth gave him a soft smile, and he almost forgot to breathe.

His father’s voice rang out in his head. “She always took my breath away.” Was this what he meant? 

Seteth always kind of made him feel weird, but this look on his face was too much for him. Jeralt had told him he’d figure it out. Maybe this was it. 

“You can call me Byleth.” He said, almost whispering to himself. 

“Byleth then.” Seteth smiled a little wider. Byleth bit his tongue. “I have faith in your abilities, Byleth. I’ve put my daughter in your care.” He reached out and touched Byleth’s arm. His whole arm tensed up. “Please, take care of yourself and let me know if you need anything.”

Byleth’s head was spinning. He felt like he needed to leave, but he couldn’t. That’d be rude. And he didn’t want his time to be cut short. 

Instead he just nodded and started eating his food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOY HOWDY YA'LL.


	9. Chapter 9

Byleth wasn’t sure what he expected, but it was less than all of this. Through the last week the whole monastery had been busy decorating for this ball, and it seemed way too over the top. 

The monastery was bustling with students and guests for the ball. The dining hall and entrance halls were decorated with fancy banners and filled with chatter. 

It hadn’t even technically started yet. The students had been given the day off of classes to help set up and prepare themselves for the event. And so Byleth had had the day off too.

To sit in his room and stare at the ceiling, trying not to think about certain people.

Thankfully, he had a guest staying in his head that he could talk to at any point. Of course, all Sothis ever wanted to talk about was the ball. Which is he also didn’t want to talk about.

He wondered if it was too late to continue hiding in his room. Or maybe he’d just sneak out of the monastery and go into town. Although, he’d heard they were having some kind of party as well. 

Byleth stood in the corner, watching as Rhea came up to the band stage and called out for the start of the ball. Musicians behind her began playing a soft tune, and the students began shuffling out onto the dance floor together. 

It wasn’t as loud as the celebrations his father’s mercenary company had subjected him to. There also wasn’t as much flailing they insisted was dancing. This was much more calm and dignified. Byleth still didn’t care for it. 

So far, no one had noticed him here in this corner. He still had a full glass of champagne in his hand. He had only taken it to be polite to the waiter. If it made him look like he was enjoying himself, it didn’t matter. 

“Teach!” Claude’s voice came up beside him. “You know this is a party, right?” 

He turned to face him. “Yes.”

“So, come on! Let’s dance!” He grabbed his professor’s hand and started pulling him toward the dance floor. 

He quickly set his glass down, and braced himself. Once Claude got an idea in his head, there was no going back. 

“I can’t dance.” Byleth warned as Claude took up his arm like the others were doing. 

“Ah, I’m sure you’ll figure it out by the end of the song.” 

He didn’t. Claude never said anything, but the way his face tightened every time Byleth stepped on his feet, he had to be thinking this was a mistake. He didn’t even force him to stay for a second dance with anyone else. 

Sighing in relief, he went back to his corner, his abandoned glass having disappeared. Oh well. He wasn’t interested in drinking it anyway.

“That was quite a showing.” 

Byleth sighed. Everyone was sneaking up on him today. This was too much. 

“I’m going to assume you’ve never been to a ball before.” Seteth gave him half a smile, almost laughing at him.

“You’d be correct.” Byleth leaned up against the wall. “I’m not one for parties.” 

“Well, you should still enjoy your time here.” Seteth offered his hand. “Perhaps I can teach you better than Claude?” 

Byleth hesitated. Normally, he would jump at any chance to spend time with Seteth. But this….

He remembered his friend at the gate, teasing him about dancing with Seteth. Suddenly, it sounded almost like a good idea. 

He took his hand, and Seteth walked with him out to the dance floor. 

Seteth was right. He was better at teaching him than Claude. Or perhaps he was better at listening to Seteth. By the end of the song, he almost had the basic steps down. 

They managed a second song together before Seteth’s assistance was required elsewhere. While Byleth was disappointed, he didn’t notice another of his students had taken that as their opportunity to dance with him. 

It wasn’t as bad now that he knew what he was doing, but it was exhausting. 

A few hours of being kept on the dance floor later, he managed to sneak away. The fresh night air was cool and soothing.

Sothis teased him in his head about being the favorite professor. He knew he was, he just didn’t know why. He kept walking. Part of him was tempted to go to the graveyard, but he was reminded of what the gatekeeper had said about the goddess tower. 

He hadn’t asked anyone to meet him, but something still drew him across campus to the tower. 

The music was loud enough that it could still faintly be heard out here. Despite being deserted it was beautiful out. The stars and moon shone bright. Byleth had always enjoyed something about the winter sky and air. 

Leaning over the short wall leading to the tower, he gazed out at the forest below and across the dark horizon. He’d been out here a few times in his time here, but never had he heard that this was supposed to be a special place. It was peaceful out here. 

If no one was here to make a vow with him, perhaps he could just make one with himself? He spent most of his time alone anyway. And once this school year was over, would he even stay? He didn’t know if he’d want to teach another class. It just wouldn’t be the same. 

“I thought you might be out here.” So he’d been found.

Turning his head, Seteth was standing nearby, hands behind his back. His hair lit by the moonlight twisted something in his chest. 

“Your friend the gatekeeper told me you’d be here.” 

“I never said that.” 

Seteth gave him a low laugh. “I’m sure.” He came to stand next to Byleth. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about this place?”

Byleth nodded. 

“Perhaps then, were you hoping to happen upon someone?” 

In the back of his head, yes. But he couldn’t say that out loud. “Not really.” 

The two fell silent, looking out in the darkness together. A small breeze picked up and Byleth closed his eyes, focusing on the wind on his face. 

When he opened his eyes, he could see Seteth watching him from the corner of his eye.

“What?” 

“There is something about you I can’t quite place. All this time with you hasn’t helped at all.” Seteth gave him that soft smile again. “But I can almost see why Rhea is so insistent that you belong here. I can’t imagine not having you at the monastery anymore.”

“Is that a good thing?” Byleth was confused. 

“I hope so.” 

Suddenly, he was aware of just how close Seteth’s hand was to his on the wall. He wanted to touch him. Slowly, he reached out a finger to lay next to his. He was scared to look at Seteth’s face. 

“Byleth.” 

His finger brushed Seteth’s. 

“I know you said you weren’t expecting anyone.” He watched as two of his fingers moved between Seteth’s.

“Maybe we could make one?” Byleth finally spoke. It felt like it’d been ages. He didn’t even know what they would promise to each other, but as long as it was anything, he’d be okay.

He looked to see Seteth watching him with a strange expression. 

Byleth felt an urge to fill the silence. That was the weirdest thing right now. He never filled silence. Even if it was awkward. If he had nothing to say, he said nothing. 

“The Millennium Festival. We could meet back here.” He was so tempted to actually hold his hand. But he couldn’t. 

“In five years? Are you saying you’re leaving?”

Byleth shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine having other students….” 

“I see.” Seteth twisted his hand to lay palm up. He reached forward and pulled Byleth’s into his. 

Byleth had to keep his hand from shaking. What was Seteth doing?

“Then I suppose we’ll just have to agree to meet back here in five years. No matter where your path, or mine, might take us.” 

Byleth nodded. Five years. That seemed like forever. Had time ever seemed so long before? He wanted to tell him.

He opened his mouth, but before he could even say Seteth’s name, loud laughter came up from around the corner. It seemed a pair of students were on the way. Byleth reluctantly pulled his hand away. 

“I should sleep.”

“As should I, Byleth.” 

Seteth walked off first, Byleth hiding in the dark of the night, watching him go. He stared at his hand for a few moments before turning to leave himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this out earlier, but yesterday Fall Out Boy decided to release a new song and I lost track of time listening to it lol. Woops. Once an emo kid....
> 
> Anywhere, there you go.
> 
> Next chapter will probably be the Big Sad. So prepare yourselves if you must. 
> 
> Thanks as always for the wonderful comments! Ya'll are so kind to me~ This chapter I want to bring up something that, to my knowledge, is never brought back up in the game. Alois says that Jeralt hasn't aged in 20 years. Why. Why is that. Why do we have nothing to work on so i can play with that????? Anyway lol


	10. Chapter 10

Jeralt was supposed to be back already. Byleth had gone to his office first thing in the morning. While he might have been a bit too early, he also knew his dad liked to travel in the early morning. And then he wasn’t there by lunch, and Byleth knew something was going on. 

His dad had said he needed to talk to him. And he needed to talk to his dad. He had to tell someone about Seteth. Besides Sothis, who just kept teasing him.

He decided to start pacing around the monastery. Classes were still out for festivities yesterday, the students being asked to help clean up after. So he was alone to wander the monastery. 

As he was contemplating maybe going out into town to see if his father had been stopped by the town gate, Alois ran up to him.

“Have you seen your father?” Byleth shook his head. “Damn. Well, you’ll have to do. We have a situation at that abandoned chapel.”

Jeralt took that moment to show up. Alois relayed the message to him. 

Demonic beasts in the monastery? How did that happen? Byleth remember when Sylvain’s brother had transformed, but there couldn’t be a way for students get their hands on a Hero’s Relic or Crest Stone, could there? 

Either way, he and his dad had no time to talk. Jeralt rushed to get a jump on the situation while Byleth gathered his students and got ready to follow in behind him.

True to his word, demonic beasts were indeed inside monastery grounds. A small group of students ran past him, screaming. 

“Finally. Come on kid, let’s take care of these things.” Jeralt waved him and his class forward.

Fighting next to his father was like instinct. Remire had been different. His father had just hung back to draw attention while Byleth and his class rescued the villagers and then take out Solon. But this was what he was used to.

Hitting an enemy at the same time. The monsters were big, but no match for the two of them. 

His students fell in behind him, used to following his silent commands. He could tell a few were freaked out by seeing so many in one spot so close to where they slept, but they fought on anyway. 

It wasn’t an easy fight. Demonic Beasts never were. They were tough and if they hit you, you’d definitely feel in the morning. But Byleth rarely worried about his students in combat. It was after the fight that they had all their issues. 

He dealt the last blow on the Demonic Beast closest to the group, opening a window for a few of his students to help others out from the rubble. But as the giant body began to dissolve, something unsettling took its place.

A student.

“They’re students?” His dad spoke his thoughts. “We have to get the rest of these kids out of here, now.” 

Byleth nodded, charging along his father. They made quick work through the rest of them, clearing the field around the old chapel. Every single beast had another student. Some Byleth recognized, some he didn’t. 

Claude came up to him. “Teach, we got all the students out. A messenger just came to say a group of Knights is coming to assist with the investigation.” 

Byleth nodded to him. 

Claude left to go help his classmates, and Byleth and Jeralt were alone in front of a ruined building. 

“What could have happened here?” Jeralt turned over a rock with his boot. “Why would anyone want to force students to become those beasts?” He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Well, let’s get started, kid. See if you can’t find any clues.” 

Byleth nodded. 

He went to go check out another pile of rubble. Turning over the stones and dirt revealed absolutely nothing. How was there no evidence anywhere? What could they be missing?

Boots crunching against grass and sticks alerted him that someone was back in the field with them. His first thought was Claude was back, or a student they had missed had finally crawled back out again. 

It was Monika. The student he’d help rescue alongside Flayn. What was she doing here? She hadn’t been here during the chaos.

She skipped right up to Jeralt. Immediately something set Byleth into high alert mode. Something about the sweet tone in her voice. He couldn’t make out what she was saying but it felt off. 

And then.

A knife. 

He felt like everything slowed down. His chest seized up. The knife’s point was buried in his father’s back.

Sothis’ Dragon Pulse was the loudest sound in the world. A drop of blood hadn’t even fallen to the ground before he used it. This couldn’t happen. 

The color faded out of the world for a brief moment before coming back, feeling blinding. Monika was approaching his father again. She was opening her mouth to talk.

The Sword of the Creator found his hand and he swung the whip-like blade out, aiming for her neck. He didn’t care if she was a student. He didn’t care about anything but Jeralt at this moment. 

It felt like years as the blade soared across the field. He’d cut her down. How dare she—

His blade hit something and clattered to the ground just as the knife entered his dad’s back one more time.

Solon.

“You cannot die here.” He said to the girl. Byleth rushed to move forward, but he was already gone.

No.

He couldn’t feel his feet on the ground as he ran over to his father. He skidded to a halt, falling to his knees next to him. He pulled his father’s body up.

“Dad.” His chest hurt. He couldn’t breathe. 

“Sorry kid. Looks like I’ll be leaving you now.” His dad choked out. 

His eyes felt like they were burning. His whole body was shaking as he was looking down at his father’s face. 

A drop of water fell on Jeralt’s cheek. Rain? 

“To think, the first time I’d see you cry, it’d be over me.” Jeralt struggled to reach up and touch his face. “It’s sad… and yet, I’m happy.” 

“No.” Byleth sobbed. His vision got blurry, and he could feel his voice shaking. “Dad. Don’t.” 

Jeralt’s hand was losing its grip on his cheek. “Just know I love you, By.”

He grabbed his hand, holding it so tight, he knew it’d break anyone else’s. “Dad…. I love you too.” 

Jeralt’s mouth tweaked up into half a smile. And then his eyes fell closed and his chest stilled. No.

No. 

There had to be something. 

Maybe Dragon Pulse again? He reached for it, but it flew out of his grasp. He tried again. Nothing.

He pulled his father’s body to his chest, sobbing into his armor. What good was armor if a tiny knife could do him in? What good was all that training if he still died?

What good was any of his own power, if it couldn’t save the one person he had? 

He heard heavy boots clanking across the field. Knights. 

It was then that he noticed it had started raining. A thick fog had settled over the field, making his visibility through the tears even worse. He couldn’t make out anyone’s faces. Just blank suits of armor. 

One of them kneeled down next to him and tried to help him stand, but he didn’t budge, clutching his father’s body tighter. A hand touched his shoulder. He knew they were talking but he didn’t care to hear anything.

All he wanted was for his dad open his eyes back up and laugh at him. Laugh at him for being so serious, as he always did. Laugh at him for not knowing how certain things work. He just wanted his dad to put his hand on his shoulder and say it was going to be okay. 

He didn’t know how long he was out in that field. The rain kept beating down on him, soaking into his armor and coat. He vaguely registered that it was cold. 

A presence entered the corner of his vision. Rhea was here. She stood several feet away, hands clasped at her heart, sadness in her eyes. “Professor. Jeralt….” 

He didn’t want to look at her. Every part of his body was asking for whatever god would listen to bring his father back. Sothis couldn’t do it, but there were others, right? Others who had the power to bring him back? 

He knew the answer. 

Rhea’s hand touched his shoulder, too light. “Professor. Let’s get back to the monastery.” She nodded over his head, and two knights came forward, reaching for his father’s body.

“No.” Byleth raised his voice. The knights were so startled they stopped before touching him. 

Slowly, he put his feet back under him, pulling his father with him. The rain had sapped the remaining warmth from his body. It was like lugging a stone around. Byleth wrapped Jeralt’s arm around his shoulder and took his weight on his back. 

Without even looking at the knights, he walked across the field and back to the monastery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was hard to write. Partially cuz experiencing death is always hard, writing about it is hard, but also I just found out my best friend's brother died. I didn't know him, but I know how much she loved him and she's hurting a lot right now. I want to help her but it's hard when you live half way across the country. It made it hard to focus on the last portion of this chapter, but I also wanted a distraction. 
> 
> I dont know ya'll. Big Sad. Here we go. 
> 
> Part of me just wants to go back to the sappy stuff, but you know, our boy's gotta suffer too. Anyway. Enjoy the chapter, enjoy your day, and tell someone you love them, ya'll.


	11. Chapter 11

The rain stayed. 

It was the early morning, rain pounding the ground and pouring down the stairs to the graveyard. Byleth was alone in the gray light, driving his shovel into the ground. The ground was already soft, but the mud kept running back into the hole. 

That was fine. It meant he didn’t have to see anyone. 

He wanted to cry again. 

Digging his own father’s grave. 

He was thankful the rain had kept up for the past few days. No one could see the tear streaks down his face. He did have a few of the students fussing over him catching a cold, however. He didn’t care for that. If he caught a cold, so be it. 

It had been three days. Three days, alone. His father was the only family he had. He had made friends here, but no one knew him. Most of the conversations he had with his father were nonverbal. He didn’t have that with anyone else. 

His chest tensed up again and he had to fight the sob boiling in his throat. Not right now. 

Sothis was being quiet. He’d gotten upset at her earlier, lashing out. So she’d given him space. He missed having someone to talk to, but he also wanted to be alone. 

Looking down at the hole he’d dug, he thought back to four days ago. The only thing he was worried about was what he was feeling for Seteth. And now….

He felt like the only thing he could ever be was sad. 

This one he had definitely never felt before.

He thought back to that orphan from Remire. He had watched her from a distance just crying and sitting alone by the dining hall, not meeting anyone in the eye. He hadn’t understood that. 

He had an idea now. 

He had been so helpless to stop this. Sothis’ power hadn’t been enough. His own power hadn’t been enough. Why did this have to—

“Professor?” 

A voice came from the top of the stairs behind him. He didn’t respond, just stuck his shovel in the dirt beside him.

“Professor,” It was Alois. “The Knights have the ceremony prepared.” A heavy, armored hand grasped his shoulder. “Are you ready out here?” 

Byleth set his jaw. He turned to look at him and nodded. 

Apparently, the church had a special ceremony for fallen knights. He’d been told, although he could barely hear over the ringing in his ears, from Rhea, that his father would be gifted a “beautiful” casket, have ceremony in front of the goddess, and have a priest recite scripture at his burial. He didn’t know how you could gift anything to a dead man, but he hadn’t had it in him to argue. 

They were also supposed to dig the hole he’d be put in, but Byleth had fought on that. He wanted to be the one. He’d be the one to dig the hole and bury him in after he was lowered down. Alone. Just like the two of them had always been.

Jeralt’s silver plated casket stood at the of the church, a preist standing in front of it. The priest had pretty words to say, but none of them were his own. Jeralt would have hated that. He had always liked people who talked plainly. 

Byleth sat at the front of the pews, as he’d been directed. He was alone in the row. He felt like that was symbolic, but didn’t care to try and think about it too much. 

He was the first to stand up when the priest called for those carrying the casket down to the graveyard. A few knights joined him, all openly crying. 

As they walked across the bridge to the main halls of the monastery, they tried to talk to him. Tell him what a great man Jeralt was. He didn’t respond. Most of them had only known him for a few months. He’d been raised by him.

The crowd had gathered above the graveyard, leaving only those carrying the casket and the priest on the grass. The sun was still hidden away by dark gray clouds, but the rain had let up into a light drizzle. 

The priest instructed them to lower Jeralt down. Byleth wanted to fight, to hold his father’s body one more time, but he couldn’t. A body wasn’t a person. He’d never have his dad again.

And it was all thanks to that girl.

\---

He hadn’t washed his hands. The rain had taken most of the dirt away, but some stuck under his nails. He returned to his room, having buried his father next to his mother. Alois had muttered something about “at least they were together again.” 

His door fell shut with a dull thud, and he moved to his desk chair. His body was exhausted. He was cold and wet, but he made no move to take off his armor or coat. 

He had no idea how long he’d just sat there, but a knock on the door startled him. He made no move to answer it.

Another knock. 

A third one. Finally, he heard someone just sigh on the other side, and the doorknob twisted anyway. 

Seteth stood in the doorway, holding a tray of food. “Byleth. Please eat.”

Byleth just looked at him. He was grateful all his tears were dry for now. No one needed to see that. Seteth just sighed again and set the tray on the desk. 

“And you need to get out of those wet clothes and armor. You’re going to make yourself sick.” Seteth moved to pull his coat off and Byleth just let him. There wasn’t a point in fighting him. 

Seteth draped the coat over the back of his chair and frowned. “Byleth, please.” 

He almost fought him, but he didn’t really have it in him right now. Instead he just set about undoing his armor and laying it out on the floor. While he was doing that, Seteth moved to his drawer, pulling out a dry shirt and pair of pants. 

Reluctantly, he stepped into both, moving to sit on his bed instead now. Seteth stood in the center of his room, watching him. 

They stayed that way for a moment, Byleth staring at his feet. He wanted to sleep, but he didn’t want to see everything again. 

Seteth moved suddenly, grabbing the bowl of soup of the desk and bringing it to him. “Eat.” 

So he did. He didn’t taste anything, but that was fine. If he didn’t taste anything, he didn’t have to think about it. 

Holding the bowl, he stared down at the bottom of it. Suddenly, he remembered his father teasing him as a child. The one time he’d been sick, he hadn’t wanted to eat his soup, and his father had laughed at how difficult he was being.

“C’mon kiddo, just eat up. You’ll feel better, I promise.” Byleth could almost hear his voice and feel his hand ruffling up his hair.

He choked back a sob.

Seteth’s eyes widened and he moved closer. 

“Don’t.” He whispered. He didn’t want to be touched or looked at.

Seteth nodded and stepped back. “I’ll come back with breakfast.” 

Byleth just nodded, listening as the door slowly clicked shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It stormed really bad here today and boy howdy, when you got an atmosphere for a chapter does it just write itself.


	12. Chapter 12

It was almost a week later when Sothis reminded him about his father leaving him something. It took another two days after for Byleth to prepare himself to go to his father’s office.

But he had to stop crying sometime. Steeling himself, he opened the door.

The rain had stopped, and the sun was starting to shine through what was left of the clouds. It was still chilly out, though.

He knew everyone was shocked to see him out of his room. Students weren’t exactly quiet with their whispers. No one came up to talk to him, which was fine.

The walk there seemed to take forever. Maybe he was just walking slow. Maybe he just never realized how far it was. He didn’t know. But he just wanted to be behind a closed door again.

His father’s office was the same as it always was. He doesn’t know what she expected. It’d been eleven days. It wasn’t like everything would be covered in dust or falling apart.

He ran his fingers across the bookshelf closest to the door. He never understood why his father had so many books. He had never been much of a reader. Jeralt had taught him to read early, but that was just because he was late to talk.

“You shouldn’t have to talk if you don’t want to, kid, but you gotta communicate somehow.”

No, he wasn’t going to cry right now.

He left that shelf to behind his dad’s desk. He had shown him this drawer several months ago. It was broken in a way that made it hard to open, unless you knew the trick.

It slid open for him, revealing a journal. Was that what he’d left? He set the journal on top of the desk and glanced to make sure he hadn’t missed anything else. Nothing.

He moved to sit on the couch across from the desk, opening the journal. The first page was just Jeralt recounting his knighting ceremony, complaining about how he now had to keep track of things in a journal like this.

As he went on, it stopped being about missions and spats between other knights, and started being more about a woman. His father certainly had flowery words to say about her. This had to be his mother.

He had been curious about her, but he didn’t know how to ask his dad about her. He hadn’t known how to ask about anything.

_Today she told me she’s carrying a child. My child. I’m going to  
be a father. I think I’m still in shock about it. _

_I’m scared, but I know I wouldn’t do this with anyone besides her._

When had his father been such a sap? He found himself smiling slightly at the passage. He flipped through a few more.

One caught his eye. It was marked the day of his birth. Apparently, Jeralt was told his mother died in childbirth. He had always assumed so but his dad never confirmed it. The next part was what got his attention.

_And still, the child she traded her life for doesn’t _

_make a sound. Didn’t even cry at birth. _

He didn’t cry? He hadn’t been around too many babies, but the few that he had, had cried almost nonstop. At least in his presence.

He’d known he was a strange child, and that he developed in a weird way, but if he hadn’t cried at birth, what did that mean? Had that been what affected him learning to talk?

Sothis pushed him to continue reading.

_I had a doctor examine the child in secret._

_He said the pulse was normal, but there’s no heartbeat._

No heartbeat.

Had he ever had one? He put his hand on his chest, still, waiting. Nothing moved. He moved his hand to his neck. Nothing. His wrist. Nothing.

_I feel I must take the child and leave. But the church is _

_always watching us. I don’t know what Lady Rhea_

_has planned._

_I used to think the world of Lady Rhea. Now I’m_

_terrified of her._

Terrified of Rhea.

No heartbeat.

His head was spinning.

_I used the fire that broke out last night to fake the_

_child’s death. _

_Lady Rhea is in a state over the news. But I can’t change_

_what I’ve done. I’ve got to take the child and leave._

He felt like he was going to be sick.

There was so much in those few passages. He had no idea where to start breaking them down.

Rhea had done something to him, or to his mother. And that had affected the way he was born? Had it taken his heartbeat? Had he even been born with one?

He closed the journal and put his head in his hands.

Sothis made a comment about it probably being her fault.

Sothis.

Before she had started talking to him, he had just something of a shell. He didn’t remember having any type of strong feelings before her. The only thing he had was his father. It was hard to even remember before. He knew events but he didn’t recall any emotion about them.

She was supposed to be the goddess. The goddess was inside his head. He had conversations with her.

He should have told Jeralt about her. Maybe he would have had an answer.

Picking up the journal again he flipped to a random page.

_Today marks five years since we left the monastery. I_

_decided this will be Byleth’s birthday. I have to conceal_

_his identity. It’s only a few days off, but it should be enough._

_He still doesn’t talk. Perhaps whatever happened to him _

_made him mute. Outside of that, he’s fine. He always seems_

_excited to read with me. I can never tell if he likes the stories,_

_but he’ll pick out books when I take him into the markets. _

_He writes well too. His handwriting is hard to read, but he_

_writes so fast. I’ve got to teach him to be patient._

_Despite living the last few years in fear that I would _

_suddenly lose him too, he seems strong. He still_

_has no heartbeat, but he eats and breathes like normal._

_I’m grateful._

Despite all the confusing things he’d just learned, at least his dad’s love for him never changed. He had never questioned that, but it was nice to read.

As he went to turn the page, a piece of paper fell out of the back. He picked it up and turned it over. It was a small painting of him and his father. He was probably around 7 in it. His father’s face was lit up with his goofy smile he used to try and get Byleth to smile all the time. But Byleth in the photo was just staring blankly at the artist.

He remembered this day. His dad had just got back from a mission for the town leader. Byleth had been staying with an elderly man who apparently knew Jeralt and owed him a favor. He had just picked him up and they were headed out of town again when an artist promised he could paint even small children quickly. Jeralt had taken him up on that, but he ended up being the one who had an issue standing still.

Byleth closed the journal and tucked it into his coat. He’d have to read it more later. For now, he had too much to think about. He had to ask Rhea some questions. But would she answer them?

Ever since he had come here, it had been nothing but confusion. It was time he started getting some answers, whether they were given or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the formatting of this chapter came out alright. If not, let me know and I'll try to fix it.
> 
> ALSO! Part of the bit about Jeralt references this adorable piece of art: https://chipchopclipclop.tumblr.com/post/186889545052/single-parenting-in-the-fantasy-medieval-times-be


	13. Chapter 13

Byleth sat at the top stair by the graveyard, a cat curled in his lap. He hadn’t made much headway in talking to Rhea. She had been busy with the investigation of who killed Jeralt. She hadn’t even talked to him since the burial. The library had turned up nothing either. 

Of course, there was the rumor that Seteth cleansed the library of unsavory things for the church. 

Seteth. 

He needed to apologize for being so cold to him the past few days. He had brought him food every day, three times a day. He had tried to talk to him too, but Byleth never responded. 

He tentatively thought about that night at the goddess tower. Holding his hand. How he wished he could have told his father.

“I thought if you weren’t in your room, you’d be out here.” Speaking of Seteth, there he was. 

Byleth turned to look at him.

“Your eyes have cleared.” 

“Have they?” Byleth tapped the spot next to him. Seteth took the invitation. “I have to apologize, Seteth.” 

“For what?”

Byleth sighed. “The last few days.” 

“Oh. Please, don’t worry about it. I know how difficult such a loss can be. I wish I’d had someone like that when my wife died.” His wife. A woman he had made a child with, but never talked about. Or perhaps he did, but never with Byleth. 

“Well, thank you.” 

Seteth nodded, reaching over to scratch his cat’s head. “I thought you said you let the cats stay in your room sometimes? I didn’t see one when I came by this past week.” 

“I barely opened my door.” He felt bad for the cats, but he hadn’t wanted to be awake, let alone be seen by anything with eyes. 

“Byleth, I regret that I never truly took the time to know Jeralt. He always completed his missions without issue and was very favored by the other knights, and Lady Rhea, but I never—”

“What reason would there be for someone to not have a heartbeat?” So that was how. 

“I’m sorry?” 

Byleth had a hard time meeting his eye. “Why would someone not have a heartbeat?” 

“Everyone has one, Byleth. The only people who don’t are the dead. Have you never checked the bodies of those you—”

“No. A living person.” 

“That is impossible. A heartbeat is what lets you know you are alive.”

He knew that. Seteth was looking at him like he had never learned simple biology. The most simple of simple biology.

“I don’t have one.” 

Seteth opened his mouth to argue, so Byleth just grabbed his hand and held it to his neck. His mouth slowly closed and his brow furrowed. 

“How—” 

“I was born without one.” 

“That’s impossible….” Seteth pulled his hand back, moving to put his fingers on Byleth’s wrist. “Maybe it’s just weak…. But that wouldn’t make sense. Someone as physically capable as you would have a strong heart. Why?” 

He didn’t know. He almost mentioned his father’s suspicion of Rhea, but something told him to wait. His instincts were usually right.

“I’m so confused, Seteth.” 

“You never noticed it before?”

Byleth shook his head. “I never thought about it.” 

Seteth fell quiet. Byleth looked back down towards his father’s grave. The rain had flattened everything back out, but the grass hadn’t grown over it just yet. 

He wished his dad would have brought this up before. But he guessed he just wanted him to live a normal life. It hadn’t affected him too much.

Then again, he had said he needed to talk to him after his last mission. They just hadn’t had time. Just like they hadn’t had time since they were dragged into this monastery business. 

“I’ll help you find answers.” 

Byleth almost startled hearing another voice next to him. He’d nearly forgotten Seteth was here, he was so wrapped in his own thoughts. 

Seteth just gave him a soft smile. Byleth didn’t have it in him to smile back, but he tried. 

\---

Manuela and Hanneman had offered to help him with classwork, to let him heal, but he appreciated the distraction. Every moment he wasn’t actively busy, he was back to wallowing alone in his room or at the graveyard. 

He once took a sort of comfort going out there, knowing the woman who supposedly gave birth to him was lying there. He had never really felt sad she was gone, but he was immensely curious. 

Now with his father’s journal, he knew probably too much about her. He still wasn’t too sure how to feel about a woman he never got to meet, and who his father never talked about. 

It did give him some insight as to how he had been feeling, though. He couldn’t process all that right now, however. It was taking everything he had to not lock himself in his room for another week. 

He hadn’t cried in a while now. He honestly hated it. He certainly hadn’t missed out on crying growing up. Part of him still found it hard to believe he hadn’t, even as a newborn, but why would his dad lie in a journal no one was ever going to see. His dad wasn’t one to make up stories anyway.

Now that his tears were drying up, he was more invested in finding out why his father had to die. Why Solon, the one who did whatever that was to Remire, showed up to stop him. And Monika. The girl he’d saved along with Flayn. Why did she kill him? 

Rhea had told him the day after his father’s death to let her handle the investigation and bringing them to justice. He hadn’t responded, as he did with everyone that day. It hadn’t sat right with him then, but he’d been so overcome with grief. 

And now, he kept overhearing the knights talk about the investigation. He’d always been good at eavesdropping, but when everyone expects you to be in your own world, it was even easier. 

Byleth knew he had to do something. But he had no information to work off yet. Just like everything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How tf did I get to 13 chapters lol
> 
> Anyway, this is more of a bridge chapter. It's hard to transition from the sadness into the next part.


	14. Chapter 14

Sometimes, having Claude as a house leader was pain, but he couldn’t deny he was brilliant. Talking Rhea into letting them gather information on Monika and whoever was with her. He was going to go out there anyway, alone, and do what he had to, but this was probably a much safer option. He hated to subject the students to this, but he knew they could handle themselves. 

He quickly refastened his boots and grabbed the Sword of the Creator. Everyone else was in their own rooms, getting ready as quick as they could. As he was about to leave, he took one look at the painting his father had kept of them. His dad’s goofy face. 

Monika had taken that from him. 

It was time to make her pay.

He opened his door and found Seteth standing at the steps below, pacing. He watched him for a moment, waiting for him to notice, but he didn’t.

“Seteth.” 

He froze in his path, turning to look at him. “Oh! Byleth.” He paused another moment before climbing the stairs to stand in front of him.

Byleth waited for him to say something.

“I just…” Seteth stopped again. “Please, be careful. We don’t know what we’re sending you and the students into.”

He knew Seteth thought it was a trap. He’d had more than a few traps set for him before, but he’d always got through. Byleth just nodded to him.

He didn’t have to time to dwell on this. He had students to lead and a monster to kill. That’s what she had to be. 

Byleth put his hand on Seteth’s shoulder and looked him in the eye for a brief moment before heading down the stairs to the meeting spot.

\---

He knew it was stupid. He knew he was being irrational. And yet, he couldn’t control the rage that welled up in his chest. 

Looking at Monika’s face shift into a stranger brought back everything he’d felt the past few weeks. And now it was apparent that she, Kronya, had taken some poor student’s life and body, all to do this. To kill his father. To hurt students and civilians. 

Byleth tried to keep his face impassive as always, but he knew a few of his students could tell he was angry. His grip on the Sword of the Creator tightened with every step he got closer to this woman. 

She’d brought more Demonic Beasts with her. Of course she did. That was her only trick. 

He and his students carved their way through the Demonic Beasts and the soldiers she’d brought with her with relative ease. That should have been his first clue. 

The next clue should have been she had no immediate support around her when he came to face her. He’d had his students hold back and deal with the stragglers. 

“Have you come to join your father in death?” Kronya cackled.

Byleth didn’t answer. 

“Oh I forgot you don’t speak! Maybe once my knife is in your neck you’ll talk! Or maybe if I kill one of those children with you.” 

His first strike knocked her back. The Sword of the Creator burned in his hand. 

“So you do have emotions.” She laughed again, a horrible, grating sound the scraped against the walls of these ruins. 

He changed his grip, swinging his sword forward, the whip blade wrapping around her leg. He swept her legs, knocking her to the ground. 

Everything around them fell quiet. She tried to crawl away as he stepped closer. One more shot of his sword hit her arm, opening a gash that spilled her blood onto the ground. 

But it also gave her the incentive she needed to find her footing again. She took off, trying to run into the forest. 

Byleth was faster. She had a head start, but he was gaining quickly. Just as he was readying his sword again, he showed up. Again. 

Solon had to keep interfering. 

The rage burning in his chest drowned out whatever he was saying, and watching him shove his hand into Kronya’s chest stopped him in his tracks. He watched in horror as he tossed her body to the ground, her twitching in pain. She twisted to beg Byleth before her body was engulfed in smoke.

His surroundings slammed back into him. He was surrounded by smoke and it was quickly closing in on him. 

The moment it hit his lungs, he was falling. Or it felt like it. 

There was never a moment of impact. He kept waiting, but nothing happened. 

Opening his eyes, he saw nothing. He was standing, but there was no floor. It wasn’t like a tunnel, or the dead of night. There was absolutely no light. 

He felt like he was suffocating.

There was a tug at his mind, Sothis drawing him into her realm. She sat on her stone throne in front him, glowing green, the only light he could see. It was even darker than usual.

Sothis chastised him for chasing after Kronya like he did. He’d known it was a mistake, but angry and grief consumed him. And now that had led them here, his students abandoned in a field with a crazed and powerful man. 

And then Sothis suggested giving him her power. The power of a god. 

He almost agreed, anything to stop this suffocating feeling. Anything to get back to protect his students. But then she told him the price.

She would disappear.

In a sense, anyway. She would still exist, but they would no longer be able to talk like they did. She would essential give him her power and become him. Or he would become her. 

He didn’t want to lose her. Losing her, so soon after Jeralt, would absolutely be too much to handle. 

But there was no other way. 

They would die a slow death otherwise. And Byleth knew he still had work to do.

He gave her a nod. She stood from her throne and approached him. He held out his hand for hers, expecting to feel her physical form, but nothing. It faded and then she did, green dust filling the air. And then him.

His chest felt like it was on fire. But in not a painful way. 

In a powerful way. 

He reached for the Sword of the Creator at his side. Filling his lungs one more time, he channeled that fire into the sword, and dug it into the darkness. 

He could feel something giving way to his power. He dragged the sword along the hole he’d already made, the darkness threatening to close it back. But he was too powerful. 

Finally, he could see the other side. His students. Solon. That cursed ruin in the forest. 

He felt like he fell out, but he landed gracefully, standing before Solon. 

“What? How!” 

Byleth didn’t respond. He just swung out his sword, ending the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My schedule this week at work has left me with so much free time. And also this is the part i was excited about so!!!
> 
> I finally finished the Blue Lion Route so now i go to Silver Snow or whatever silver thing it is and that'll be all the routes for me~ 
> 
> Hope ya'll enjoy. I love the comments you leave and they make my day!


	15. Chapter 15

He didn’t remember much after landing the last blow that forced Solon to retreat. His students surrounded him, all excitedly talking about what just happened.

And then, nothing.

He woke up in the infirmary, a cold rag on his forehead. There was only dim candlelight, so it must have been late at night. The room was quiet. He blinked, trying to sit up slowly. He pulled the rag off his forehead, moving to set it on the table beside him.

He noticed a chair next to his bed.

Seteth was sitting there, head resting on his chest, his breathing slow. 

As he was about to say something to wake him up, Manuela came into the room, carrying a tray of something. She set it on a table in the corner of the room and looked over to him.

“Oh, you’re awake!” 

Seteth startled awake. Byleth just nodded at her.

“I thought with that fever you’d be out for a few days.” She came over and put her hand to his forehead, frowning. “It’s still very high. How do you feel?”

He took stock of everything. There was a slight pain in his chest, but that was nothing. Everything was working just fine. 

“Fine.” He answered. 

Manuela hummed to herself. “Most people would be hallucinating at temperatures like you have.”

Byleth’s eyes traveled over to Seteth, who was still sitting there, watching intently. 

“How long was I out?” 

“A few hours. Your students carried you in here after your battle with Monika and whatever did, uh, this to you.” She gestured to his hair and eyes. “You have no physical injuries, but you do have a very high fever, so you’ll have to stay here until it goes down.” 

It took him a moment to realize she kept staring at his head. She said something changed.

He reached up and felt it. Yeah, his hair was still there. It felt the same. He looked to Seteth, confused.

“Whatever happened, your hair and eyes have changed color.” He said, his voice strained. 

Manuela shushed him. “Seteth, this is not the time. He needs to heal.” She pushed Byleth down onto his bed. “You need to sleep.” 

He complied, laying back down. He didn’t feel tired, but he also wasn’t ready to go to his own room yet. Manuela sighed. “I didn’t expect you to listen. But good. I’m going to run to the greenhouse for some more ingredients, and when I get back, I expect you to be asleep.” 

Byleth just nodded. 

Manuela gave a pointed glance to Seteth. “And you. You need to sleep. In your own quarters. It’s like you don’t trust me.” She gave him one last glare before she headed out of the room. 

Byleth turned back to Seteth. “You can sleep.” 

“I was asleep.”

“In a bed.” 

Seteth chuckled to himself. “I’m the one who should be concerned for you.” He stood from his chair and walked over toward the bed. He reached out and lifted some of the hair from Byleth’s forehead. “I have many questions, but Manuela is right. You should sleep.” 

Byleth nodded, but really hoped Seteth wouldn’t leave. “Can you….” He stopped himself. He didn’t like needing things from people. 

“Can I what, Byleth?” 

“Stay?” He finished, glancing away for a moment. “Until I fall asleep?” 

“Manuela will yell at me.” He said, but gave him a soft smile. “But of course.” He moved to sit on the other bed. “I’ll be here.” 

Byleth felt his own lips turn up, and closed his eyes. 

\---

The next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes to see his students hovering over him. He squinted, rubbing at his eyes. Why were they all here in his room? How did they get in?

Wait. This wasn’t his room. 

Oh, right. The infirmary. 

“Professor! Thank goodness you are awake!” Flayn was at the foot of the bed, hands clasped together in worry. 

Claude clapped her on the shoulder. “It was Flayn’s idea to show up for you, Teach. Not that we wouldn’t have come by anyway.” 

Hilda scoffed at him. “Of course, Claude.”

Byleth sat up, waiting for the snarky comment from Sothis. But he got nothing. Nothing by his own thoughts. He brought a hand to his head. Was she really—

“Anyway, Teach. You gotta tell us what happened after that guy sucked you into wherever!” 

“What are you all doing in here!” Manuela’s voice boomed into the room. She rushed in, shooing the students out. “You can’t crowd an infirmary. You can visit one at a time later! Go go go!” She had to go so far as pushing a few of them out. 

Manuela sighed at the doorway, watching them all slink away. “Those kids, I swear.” She turned back to him, grabbing a few things from her desk. “Let me examine you properly.” 

“I feel fine.” Byleth moved to swing his legs over the side. He wanted to go to his room and think. 

“No you don’t. I have to make sure there’s no sign of internal bleeding or head trauma.” She sat beside him on the bed, poking at him and having him do simple tasks. 

It took way to long in his opinion, but he complied. That was the only way to get out of here.

Finally, she decided he was clear. Even though he still had a fever. She decided she would just check on him in his room later to make sure it didn’t spike back up.

Standing outside the infirmary, he took stock of everything. Everything that he could see anyway. His hands looked the same, his body felt the same. That pain in his chest was still there. Right where his heart was. Or should be. He wasn’t sure he really had one at this point. 

Putting a hand to his chest, he waited. Still no heartbeat. He didn’t know what he expected. 

“Byleth!” Seteth rushed out of his room when he saw him walking by. “Has Manuela cleared you?” 

He nodded. “She’s sending me to my room.” 

“Allow me to walk you there.”

Byleth just shrugged. If he really wanted to, he wasn’t going to stop him. Although, he would like the thinking time. 

He almost felt like this wasn’t real. 

There had been plenty of days, even weeks where Sothis had been asleep and didn’t speak to him. Most of those had been in his early days here at the monastery, but it hadn’t been too weird. Maybe after a few days, she’d wake back up. And she could help him with the rest of this.

As the two of them walked back to his room, they happened by a reflective statue. Something strange caught Byleth’s eye and stopped him. What was that color?

He stepped closer. It was his hair? Reaching up to touch it, yes, that was him. He pulled at it, watching it fall back on his head. 

His hair had gone from its dull blue-gray color to a light green. Green, like Sothis’ hair. 

Seteth stopped walking when he noticed Byleth was no longer a few steps behind him. 

“Byleth.”

“My hair….” He kept touching it. 

“It is… quite a change.” 

Byleth frowned at his reflection. That was one way to put it. All he knew was it put a bad feeling at the pit of his stomach. 

“I find it quite charming, myself.” Seteth stepped next to him. “But we can worry about that at a later time, Byleth. It’s best to listen to Manuela in medical affairs.” 

Byleth just nodded and followed him, trying to work this out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have the next chapter and half of 17 done but you'll have to wait for them lol. Only a day between but you know. 
> 
> hope ya'll enjoy!


	16. Chapter 16

It had been a week and a half, and she hadn’t woken up. 

He knew he was just getting his hopes up at this point. But he couldn’t stop trying to go back to her stone throne and speak with her. Every time he closed his eyes, he tried to find his way back there. He had no luck. 

And Manuela kept harassing him to come by the infirmary. He still had a fever, which he was beginning to think was just normal now. And Rhea was being very suspicious. 

Now she was insisting they were going to visit a tomb so he could receive a message from the goddess. He almost told her that he’d been receiving them for months now, but the look on her face said she was up to something. 

Something was very unsettling about this. He thought back to his father’s words on Rhea after his birth. 

He hadn’t had the heart to read past the entry of his fifth birthday, but he knew he would have to soon. But those would also be the last words his father ever had for him. He wondered if he’d felt weird about Rhea after they came here. Probably. He had said not to trust anyone too much.

Byleth sighed. He’d come out to the pond to fish and clear his mind. It wasn’t working the way he wanted. 

He cast his line out again, watching the line gently land in the water. The fish weren’t biting very well today, so it just sat there. Usually he didn’t have this much trouble. 

“Professor!” He looked up to see Flayn running over to him. She often got excited when she saw him fishing. “What have you caught today?” 

He gestured to his empty basket. Her face fell. “Oh.”

He shrugged. “Not a good day for fish.” 

“Professor, pardon me if I’m being intrusive, but you seem sad.” 

“Do I?” 

“I know you are not one for many words, but I have been in your class for some time now. I can tell.” 

He looked over to her. Flayn was a sweet girl. He nodded. 

“At least our hair matches now!” Flayn gave him a blinding smile. 

It was hard to not to smile back her. “So it does.” He reached up to touch his hair. It was still weird that it wasn’t his natural color anymore. He missed it but it was also just hair. 

Flayn took that as an invitation to start rambling about various things she’d seen around the monastery lately. If he was being honest, he was glad for it. His head had been too quiet lately. She went on for quite some time. He was barely listening, but it was comforting. 

“Thank you, Flayn.” 

She stopped talking. “Oh. You’re very welcome, Professor.” 

He reeled in the last fish he was going to catch tonight. He had only caught 4 today, but that was okay. He had got what he came out for. He unhooked the fish, examining it. Relatively small, but Flayn hovered over his shoulder.

“That is quite a nice specimen, Professor.” 

He held it out for her. “Take it.” 

She excitedly took the fish from his hand. “Oh thank you! Would you like to eat it with me? I will have the dining hall cook it up!” 

That didn’t sound like an question. He just shrugged. “Okay.” He moved to start putting his equipment away.

“While it’s cooking, I’ll go fetch my father! We can all have a meal together!” She didn’t wait for his response, running off toward the dining hall. She hadn’t even taken the other fish he’d caught. 

After he’d put his tackle and pole away, he went to the dining hall. He got there before Flayn returned with Seteth, so he grabbed a few seats in the corner by the window. The sun was beginning to go down, washing the dining hall with orange light. 

Just as he was getting back into his own head, Seteth and Flayn appeared in front of him. 

“Ah, Professor.” Seteth greeted.

Not Byleth? He rose an eyebrow a fraction. Seteth looked away for a moment. 

“I’m going to go check on the food!” Flayn rushed off to go talk to the chef. 

“Professor isn’t my name.” 

“I felt it might be strange to call you that in front of Flayn.” 

“Why?” 

Flayn came back at that point, ending their conversation. She had a tray of chopped fish that she put down on their table. She sat down and immediately started talking and eating. 

Seteth wouldn’t meet his eye. 

Had he done something? He knew he had been preoccupied with everything that had happened these last two months. Had he said something? But they had seemed fine the other night when Seteth had insisted on walking him to his room. 

Another thing to add to the pile that was on his back. 

Flayn ate most of the fish. Byleth claimed he wasn’t hungry, his appetite had been low the past few days. Since Sothis. Maybe that was another thing about having the goddess’ power. Having to eat less. 

As night fell, Flayn excused herself. There was a test tomorrow she wanted to study for. Byleth had almost forgot he’d scheduled one. She thanked Byleth for the fish and for joining her and Seteth and went off, leaving him and Seteth alone.

“Did I do something?” 

“What?” Seteth finally looked at him. “No, you haven’t.”

“Then, why?” He liked having one person here who would call him by his name. Jeralt had been the only one for a long time. 

“I don’t know how Flayn would feel… about this.” He made a vague hand gesture Byleth didn’t understand. 

“This?” 

Seteth sighed. “Us. What we have going on here.” 

“Us.” Byleth thought for a moment. They had an ‘us’? 

“Yes. I apologize for acting strange, but I would like to speak with her about it, first.” 

“I… didn’t know there was an us.” Byleth looked down at his hands. He liked the idea. He hadn’t had much time to evaluate his feelings for Seteth recently, but he knew they were there. Especially after Seteth being so gentle with him after his father and Sothis. “But, okay.” 

Seteth stood up. “We should talk elsewhere.” He offered his hand. “Let’s go for a walk.” 

They ended up on the bridge between the church and the rest of the monastery. The moon and stars were bright in the sky. Byleth hadn’t been spending his evenings outside recently, wanting to stay alone in his room. He’d almost forgotten he liked to see the stars.

Seteth glanced around them. Byleth knew he was making sure they were alone, but wasn’t entirely sure why. 

“Byleth.” He started. “Do you have feelings for me?” 

“I think so.” Byleth answered. 

Seteth sighed, bringing a hand to his face. “I don’t understand why you have to give such vague answers. Please, Byleth.”

“I don’t know. I never had these feelings before.” Byleth leaned against the side of the bridge.

“Never? You’re a fair age to have never had romantic feelings.”

Romantic feelings. Part of him knew that’s what this was, but he still wasn’t sure. He could have just been misreading everything, like he often did. 

“I don’t have many.” Byleth confessed. “At least, before I came here.” 

“What?” Seteth seemed startled. “What do you mean?” 

Byleth frowned. “You know. I only ever cared about my dad. And I couldn’t express that.” He didn’t know if now was the time to mention Sothis. To mention the reason he was experiencing things. So he didn’t. He just shrugged and looked away. 

“Well. It seems there is still more about you I do not know, Byleth.” A hand came to his wrist. Byleth tensed up. There it was. “But, perhaps, once things begin to calm down a bit, we can… explore this together?” 

Byleth found himself nodding. 

He still missed his father. He missed Sothis. He still didn’t know why he was like this. And now he had to work around this green hair and goddess power. 

But looking at Seteth in the moonlight put some of those worries and pains to rest, just for a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sappy time y'all.


	17. Chapter 17

The closer the date Rhea had set for this visit to the tomb got, the more unsettled Byleth was. Everything about this was weird. Rhea’s demeanor toward him had changed. She seemed less controlled and would often talk of how blessed he was. 

He already felt it was weird he wield an ages old sword when no one else could. He’d concluded that it had something to do with what Rhea had done to him as a newborn. Sothis had always commented on how it felt to have the sword near her. Of course, he had no real evidence. 

And now Seteth was saying how Rhea was being closed off with him. He wouldn’t say about what, but during their nightly walks, he seemed troubled and would occasionally talk about his frustrations with the archbishop.

Part of Byleth was hoping that this “message” or whatever from the goddess would bring Sothis back to him, but he wasn’t holding out too much hope. Things never truly worked that way. If she hadn’t woken up yet, what was going into a tomb going to do?

His students seemed excited about the trip, however, so he tried to hide his apprehension. Their last two missions had been heavy, one ending tragically, the other almost following. He didn’t know why they were excited to visit a tomb of all places, but he let them have it. 

Byleth chose to spend this night out in the graveyard. Grass was slowly growing over the spot his father was in, but there were still brown patches. He wasn’t sure how he’d felt about nature taking back the spot his father had occupied, but it was something natural. Something inevitable. 

The headstone had been engraved with his name, too. But they hadn’t bothered to reengrave his mothers. His father often referred to her as nicknames in his journal, but he hadn’t found her actual name yet. Rhea had mentioned she was a nun here, but she never went past that. 

He wondered what her ceremony had been like. Had he been there? Or had his father taken him away before? 

Something else occurred to him. If his father had faked his death, why hadn’t Rhea set a gravestone for him? His dad said she’d been in a state over losing him. But there were no records of him.

The more he thought about Rhea’s actions then and now, the less he knew. And now he didn’t even have Sothis to suggest things to him. With her being the goddess, it was fair to assume Rhea had had something to do with that. But how? 

Byleth reached out and laid his hand on his father’s name. Sothis would have never left him if he’d been able to control himself. He wouldn’t be headed into a tomb with Rhea if he hadn’t let the anger at his father’s needless death consume him. He didn’t regret watching Monika die, but she hadn’t even died at his hands. 

This line of thought was getting him nowhere. He’d come to visit his father, not wallow in his mistakes and confusion. He moved to sit on the grass, facing the gravestone. If he wasn’t going to think about the mystery around his birth and connection to Sothis, there was one other thing he could think about.

Seteth.

How he said they had an ‘us’. How he wanted to explore feelings. The thought made his chest tighten a bit. 

It was kind of scary, but he was excited. 

Seteth had walked him back to his room last night, as he often did. Byleth had offered to walk him back, but Seteth simply shook his head and headed to Byleth’s room. He didn’t fight it. Especially not looking at him in the moonlight. The way his hand touched his as he said goodnight. 

When he first started here, he’d overhear students talking about other students they had “crushes” on. His dad had told him once he had a crush on Seteth. That seemed like a strange term to him. But he hadn’t understood it at that point. He didn’t know why those students would turn red and cover their faces and squeal about the other. 

He still didn’t understand why they would do that, but he felt he was closer to understanding it. 

Leaning back, he gazed up at the night sky. It was cloudy tonight, so there weren’t any stars. The moon would occasionally peek through, giving light, but the stars did not tonight. 

A small voice in his head wished Seteth were here now. He mentally scolded himself. This was a time for his father and him. Not for Seteth. Even if his father was gone, he didn’t want to leave him out of his life for good. 

But maybe he would make time to go stargazing at some point with him. Jeralt had once shown him a beautiful hill outside the town below that had a wonderful view. The stars had been so bright that night. Maybe when summer came back around.

Byleth could almost hear his father teasing him for thinking about that. He wondered what his dad would say if he’d told him about the goddess tower and last night. He would just have to imagine it. 

The first drops of the night’s rain fell on his head. That was his signal to go back inside and call it a night. He stood up and whispered a goodnight to his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of filler before we get to into the next bit of action stuff, but our boy needs some downtime lol
> 
> PS i got a new 3h comic out  
https://myswordhandtwitches.tumblr.com/post/187864314956/local-homeless-man-refuses-job-until-father-brings
> 
> https://twitter.com/snick_snack_/status/1175545127122554880


	18. Chapter 18

“Sit on the throne, professor, so the goddess may give you your revelation.” 

This was it. If Sothis didn’t wake up with this, that meant she was really gone. 

The throne was exactly what he always saw her on. He had never seen the rest of the area, but the throne was the same. It had always been surrounded by a black fog, only lit by the green glow Sothis gave off. 

And now he was actually here in real life. 

He reached out and touched the arm of the throne gently. It was cold, as it should have been. He sent a silent word to Sothis, hoping she could hear that he was going to sit where she usually was. Hoping that was enough to make her mad and wake her back up.

It wasn’t. He sat still on the throne for several minutes, his students and Rhea watching expectantly. 

Rhea’s face suddenly fell. “No. That should have done it….” 

He stood up, his heart falling. Or whatever he had in his chest. He kept his face still as he worked through it all in his mind. Rhea had expected something. He’d known it was a long shot, but it was still a shot. And it hadn’t worked. 

Sothis was really gone. 

He was alone. 

Just as Rhea was about to say something, there was noise from below them. Rhea rushed over to look down the stairs. 

An army. 

The Flame Emperor had followed them here. Byleth cursed himself. He’d been so wrapped up in the hope that Sothis would return to him that he hadn’t even checked. He should have known.

The anger Rhea showed was startling. The malice in her voice when she commanded Byleth and his students kill the intruders was unsettling. He knew she was protective of the church and the goddess from the time that Lonato noble had rebelled. 

Byleth knew that even if he didn’t command his students to fight, these soldiers would take arms to them anyway. So, it was a fight for survival. And he couldn’t exactly refuse Rhea anyway. 

He nodded to his students, pulling the Sword of the Creator out. The fight was on.

\---

They were on the brink of war. Edelgard had been the Flame Emperor and was now declaring war on the church.

Byleth and his students had protected Rhea and fought off the imperial soldiers who tried to rob the graves of those in the Holy Tomb. Edelgard and her followers had still managed to get away, though. The same way the Flame Emperor always had. 

And now, they had maybe two weeks until the Empire attacked again. 

The knights were scrambling for preparation. The monastery was built for defense but those defenses had never had to be used, so there was quite a bit of maintenance they had to do to get them in working order. Rhea had instructed him to prepare his students for the possibility they would need to join the fight.

Byleth didn’t like the idea of throwing children at a budding war, but it was another survival situation. And he knew those students would follow him anywhere. 

Now they had to go about their day-to-day with a count down over their heads.

Byleth had been involved in small uprisings before, so he knew about large scale battles. But a random nobles soldiers would not be as strong as an Imperial soldier. Preparing his students for this level of combat would be a challenge. 

A few nights after the events, Byleth was sitting on the stairs by the front gate. The townspeople had all been evacuated, so it was eerily quiet out. There were a few stragglers but nothing like the crowds of people that used to visit the marketplace. 

His friend the gatekeeper had the night off gate duty, instead he’d been asked to help some other guards secure a safehouse for the nuns and civilians staying here. 

The sound of soft steps came up behind him. A sound he was familiar with by now. Seteth was a quiet walker, just like him. 

“It’s uncomfortably quiet tonight.” 

Byleth nodded. 

“I had hoped things would settle down after your visit to the Tomb, but it seems luck would not be with us.” Seteth took a seat next to him. 

“I wanted to go stargazing.” 

“Stargazing? You enjoy stargazing?” 

Byleth nodded, a soft smile coming to his face. 

“I assumed you just enjoyed the night air.” 

“I like that too.” 

“It seems your black armor suits you then. A man of the night.” Seteth shifted to face him. “We will take care of this rebellion quickly.”

Byleth wanted to believe him. But he knew that wouldn’t happen. Edelgard was determined. Hubert would see her ideas out to the end. And it seemed her soldiers were very loyal. They would not give in so easily. But he didn’t say that. His father had taught him to never give voice to ill thoughts before a battle.

Instead he just nodded to Seteth.


	19. Chapter 19

The warning bell rang in the dead of night. Byleth threw off his blanket and grabbed his sword by the door, rushing out. He had slept in his armor, as he used to on missions with his father. 

He ran toward the pond, the place he and his students would meet should that bell go off. Claude was there, the rest of the class beginning to fall in with him. 

Byleth instructed Claude to have everyone take their places in the front gate. He needed to speak with Rhea before they took action to make sure the plan hadn’t changed. Claude nodded and took his classmates off. 

Byleth ran toward the entrance hall. Rhea had requested all commanders and teachers to meet her by the doors.

Hanneman was already there, and he could see Manuela stumbling down the hall. The guard captain was waiting next to Rhea already, along with Alois and Catherine. Seteth didn’t seem to be here yet.

“Professor.” Rhea turned to him as he made eye contact with her. “Have you sent your students to their place?” Byleth nodded. “Excellent. It is regrettable that we must use them to bolster our numbers, but you have taught them well. Please, do not let them give their lives.” 

She turned to the others and started giving instructions to them. The guards would take care of the residents of the monastery who couldn’t fight. Alois and Catherine were to fight on the front lines, and come with reinforcements should the enemy get closer to the monastery. 

“Please, all of you, I ask you do not die today. Let us quell this war before it has a chance to start.” Rhea gave them all the nod to go off.

“Professor, wait.” She held him back. “I will be joining you on the battlefield.”

Byleth opened his mouth to protest but she held a hand up. “No. I must. But, should anything come of me, I ask that you take my place.”

Him? He knew nothing of the religion. He’d only been here for a short while. But, he supposed he would be the closest to the goddess, given that they once occupied the same mindspace. He couldn’t argue right now. He had a fight to win. He nodded to her.

“Thank you. I must quickly prepare. I will join you soon.” 

She disappeared down the hall, leaving Byleth alone by the doors. In charge of the church….

His thoughts were cut short.

“Byleth!” Seteth’s voice came down the hall, a lance in his hands. 

“Seteth.” 

“I will be joining you on the battlefield.” 

Byleth rose his eyebrow in surprise. He knew Seteth was skilled, after that small battle with the Western Church, but this was not against priests. “Seteth….”

“I know I may be a bit rusty. But I cannot stand by and let them destroy this place.” 

“But… what if—” He cut himself off. No. The idea of Seteth dying was not something he needed to think about right now. He had other things to worry about. 

“Byleth…” A hand came to his face. “I know. You have lost someone precious to you recently. And I hope I am… becoming someone who holds a similar place in your heart. But trust me when I say, I will not leave you.” 

“You aren’t supposed to speak ill before a battle.” Byleth whispered, more to himself. 

“What?”

“Mercenary superstition.”

Seteth just nodded. “You are the most skilled commander we have. You have my absolute trust, Byleth.” His thumb ran over Byleth’s cheek. Byleth tried to quell the burning in his chest, but he never wanted this moment to end. “You have your students’ trust. You have Flayn’s trust. You have my trust.” Things narrowed to just the two of them. “Please, now is the time to trust yourself.” 

Byleth reached his hand up to hold Seteth’s. He didn’t doubt that. He knew he was capable. But Seteth…. He just wanted for things to be normal and quiet, as they once were. 

“I know.” Byleth said. 

Seteth gave him a soft, sad smile. “Then, I will give you something for good luck.”

Byleth blinked in confusion, but before his brain could process what Seteth was talking about, he was kissing him.

It wasn’t the first the kiss Byleth had had. That had belonged to a rich man’s daughter after he’d rescued her younger sister from bandits. He hadn’t understood the teasing his father gave him later, and he certainly didn’t understand why she’d done it. 

He thinks he knows now. 

It was brief, just a brush of the lips. But it was enough. For now. 

Seteth pulled back. “Let us win, Byleth.”

“I know a nice hill for stargazing.” Byleth didn’t want to let go of his hand. “I’ll take you after.” 

Seteth nodded, and they finally separated, heading out to the gates. 

\---

Byleth knew better than to count a battle won before the final soldier fell, but when they defeated the commander, that should have been it. 

Everyone was alive. His students were fine. A bit battered, but alive. Flayn and Rhea and his fellow instructors were all fine. The knights who’d pulled back to protect the monastery gates were fine. 

Seteth was fine. Byleth stood over the fallen commander, breathing heavy. It had been a well fought battle. The man had been very skilled. It was almost a shame he had to fall here. 

But something still felt wrong. 

It felt unfinished. 

The bone-rattling roar tore through the town streets. Demonic Beasts? And a group of them, from the sound.

“Professor!” Hilda swooped down on her Pegasus. “They brought Demonic Beasts! And a lot of them! What do we do!”

“Regroup at the gate. I’ll be there shortly.” Hilda looked like she wanted to say something, but when her professor said more than one sentence, she knew better than to question it. 

Hilda flew off, telling her classmates to fall back for now. Byleth took stock of everything he could see approaching. More soldiers were behind those Beasts. The commander wasn’t the end. 

He cursed, running back to meet up with his students. 

As soon as Rhea saw him, she instructed that he get his students and the rest of those fighting out of there. She would stay and fight herself.

“Lady Rhea! You can’t!” Seteth jumped off his wyvern. 

“I must, Seteth. Please, our dear professor will need your assistance. Go with him. Help him.” 

“Of course, but—”

Rhea shook her head, cutting him off. Byleth took that as his cue. He gave the order to his students to retreat. To flee. Every part of his being was screaming to stay. A mercenary didn’t run from a fight. His father never did.

As the students and knights began to file out the town’s back gate, there was another deafening roar from the beasts approaching. But this time, it was matched by another. One he didn’t recognize. 

Byleth stopped in his tracks, turning to see a giant white dragon hunched down, screeching back. Right where Rhea had been.

Dragons were supposed to be extinct, he thought. Whenever children’s stories would bring them up, his father had always told him it was a shame they weren’t around. But here one was. Right in front of him. 

The dragon charged forward, its massive tail sweeping through a line of soldiers, their bodies hitting the floor with sickening thuds. It screamed again. The Demonic Beasts had finally arrived. 

Byleth watched as the dragon’s teeth sunk into one, cutting it clean in half. More charged at it. Two seemed to be no issue for the monster. But three….

She needed help. That dragon, Rhea, was the only thing stopping the Imperial army from getting everyone else. 

Byleth gripped the Sword of the Creator tighter.

“Seteth.” In the corner of his eye, he saw him turn to him. “Protect them. I’ll be back.”

“What do you—”

Byleth didn’t stay to hear the end of that sentence. He charged the down the mountain, shoot his sword forward to catch of the beasts crawling on the dragon in the side. He knocked it loose, and another swing brought the beast down entirely. 

The dragon’s head swung to see what had assisted it. Byleth just swept his sword along the ground, taking out another approaching.

Foolishly, he hadn’t been watching his own back. 

He slammed into the barrier fence, his head hitting the stone with enough force to make him see stars. He tried to find his footing again, but a beast had charged him, crashing into the stone wall, breaking through it. 

And there was no footing to be had. Just a chasm. 

The last thing he saw was that white dragon, mouth open, piercing the heavens with its cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright we're getting to the time skip~~~ 
> 
> I havent decided if i want to try another Seteth chapter between this and when Byleth wakes back up so please let me know. Thanks for all the kind reviews recently!


	20. Chapter 20

The wall crashed down and Rhea’s screams drowned the battlefield. Seteth turned from the group of students he was leading to see her giant form crashing down, crushing soldiers and beasts alike beneath her. Her cry was one of anguish. He knew it well.

He felt like crying himself.

Byleth was a fierce fighter, never one to give in. He’d watched him get thrown against the barrier wall. In the moment, Seteth had anticipated Byleth getting up and continuing to fight the Demonic Beasts. But then the beast who had hit him, proceeded to chase him, pushing him, and itself, through the brick barrier.

The red glow of his sword disappeared down the chasm on the other side.

It took everything in his being to not rush to try and aid him. He knew by the time he’d get there, it would be too late. And the way Rhea was rampaging, it wasn’t a good idea to help her either.

He had promised Byleth he’d keep the students and others safe. So that’s all he could do for now.

Seteth ran to catch up with the group. On the outskirts of the forest, there was a large encampment set up for this. Rhea was right in insisting this be set up.

The sounds of fighting were distance, only the cries of Rhea in her dragon form and the beasts could be heard on the wind.

Seteth dug his lance into the dirt, leaning against it. This couldn’t be happening.

“Hey, Seteth.” Even Claude’s casual tone was strained and worried. “Where’d Teach go?”

“Byl- You professor stayed back to help fight.”

“What? But he said—”

Seteth shook his head. “That man is too stubborn to stay out of a fight.”

Claude fell silent and left him.

Seteth fought the tears back from his eyes. In one day would he lose one of his oldest companions and the man he’d come to adore? And he was helpless to assist either of them.

He had to push his feelings away to get the students out of here. It was what Byleth had asked him to do. It was what Rhea would have wanted. She did always have a soft spot for the students at the monastery.

Setting aside his thoughts, he instructed the knights to set up an escort. The remaining students were all from the Alliance and Kingdom, so as soon as they crossed the border, they would be safe. Edelgard surely would not pursue mere students. Even if among those students were soon-to-be leaders of the other nations.

\---

They crossed the Great Bridge with little issue. Seteth was right to assume Edelgard had other plans. From here, they would split off. The Kingdom students would be escorted home by one group, and the Alliance by another.

As they rested on the other side of the border, Seteth could feel everything catching up to him. He was exhausted. And tomorrow those he was in charge of would leave to their homes, to try and get their lives together after this mess.

And he would try to clean this mess up.

It was a very quiet night, not even the wind stirring. The fire barely crackled. It was eerie and unsettling.

“Father?” his daughter’s sweet voice whispered from the darkness. He turned to see her, thankful that at she was safe with him. “Do you think they’re okay?”

“I can’t say.” Flayn hadn’t seen Byleth fall. There weren’t many who could survive that.

“Claude says that he doesn’t think the professor would die so easy.” Flayn sat down next to him. “I did witness him cutting through the sky.”

What? Seteth’s face must have given away what he was thinking, because Flayn continued.

“The day we went after his father’s killers. During his battle, some kind of smoke surrounded him and he vanished. As the man casting it was about to attack us students, the professor seemed to slice through the very sky with the Sword of the Creator. That was when his hair and eyes changed.”

So that’s what had happened. “He never told me what had happened.”

“Father, I know you are sad, but please, have faith in the professor, and Lady Rhea.”

He gave her a sad smile and just nodded.  
\---

The monastery town was decimated. There were only a few buildings that did not suffer damage. And they had been abandoned. The townspeople hadn’t returned.

The monastery itself still stood, with some wear from the flames the Imperial army must have set before leaving. It would take work to fix it, but Seteth knew if Rhea could be found, they would have the motivation to do so.

He sent the knights out to look in the surrounding areas. He and Flayn would search around the monastery grounds. It was unlikely either Rhea or Byleth would return to the monastery after the battle but Seteth wasn’t ready to expose Flayn to an ambush.

Flayn took the top floors and the church area, leaving the rest to her father. Seteth immediately went to Byleth’s room. Out of habit, he knocked, but as his hand hit the door, it fell open. He’d forgotten to shut it all the way in the heat of battle.

The room was just as plain as it had been the first time he’d visited. All those months ago, just to check on Flayn. His bed was a mess, but he wouldn’t have had time to make it. The desk was covered in papers, as was typical for a teacher. But something caught his eye.

A portrait. He recognized Jeralt immediately, the portrayal of him on canvas looking just like he had in life. And with him, a dark haired, stone faced child. That must have been Byleth as a child. The painting was worn, clearly something someone had dragged through many hardships. It must have been Jeralt’s.

Seteth knew Byleth was having a difficult time with his father’s death. They had been together for as long as he could remember. From Byleth’s stories, he’d even accompanied him on a few missions before he could wield a sword properly.

A journal laid next to the picture. Opening it, he found surprisingly neat handwriting, apparently belonging to Jeralt as well. These must have been left for Byleth. He laid the journal down, choosing to keep those words between father and son. He didn’t know how Byleth would react if he were to figure out Seteth had read it. He certainly didn’t react well to others trying to touch his father’s body.

Another, smaller journal sat on the corner of the desk. Seteth picked it up and opened it as well.

This handwriting was messy. It was just barely legible.

_Dad gave me this. He said if I’m going on missions_  
_ I have to write things down._

That was the first entry. It was so short the owner of the book just drew a line under it to start the next one. It went on about a mission taking out bandits. It only went into details about the fight, nothing about how the author was feeling.

Flipping forward a few pages, he got to an entry that was slightly longer.

_A girl came to my dreams tonight. She had green hair,_  
_ and scolded me about something. I don’t remember._  
_ Dad just laughed when I told him. He says I’m finally_  
_ ‘at that age’, whatever that means_.

A girl with green hair. Had Byleth had dreams about Rhea before even coming here? Was that why she always seemed so taken with him? But it was obvious to Seteth that the professor was always a bit wary of her. So who then?

There was a large gap in that entry to next, the author clearly forgetting to write anything for a few months.

_I don’t understand why they’ve made me a teacher._  
_ But I am here because my dad is. That’s it._

That made since. Byleth had told him as much. He simply followed what his father had wanted. Being each other’s only family, it was understandable.

From there, there was only small entries about the assignments he’d been given from Rhea, up to the point where he’d rescued Flayn. From there, the entries stopped. Seteth found himself wishing for more. Anything to hold on to. Byleth was hard to read in person, but his journal just left him seeming emotionless.

Seteth thought back to that night on the bridge, when Byleth had said he didn’t have many. It had been very odd at the time, but perhaps something stopped him from acting as a normal human would.

Closing the journal, he quickly left the room. If he let himself spiral into worry for the man, he would not be able to complete the task at hand. He had to find Rhea and get the church back in this fight.

He headed toward the gates. It was nearly time for the knights to meet up and give him their report.

“Seteth!” One of them called as he approached. He nodded to them.

“It’s not good news, I’m afraid.” The knight lowered his head. “We found no trace of the archbishop.”

“And the professor?”

“None of him either.”

No trace meant no body. And no body meant there was still a possibility they were alive. Especially Rhea. The Empire would have need of her. But the question was where would they take her?

\---

A year passed by slowly. Seteth traveled across Fodlan with the knights, searching for any clues about where Rhea might have been taken. They had found next to nothing, just the fables of bored townspeople.

Seteth had also been listening for rumors about a certain mercenary. He wasn’t a fan of taverns typically, but they were good for listening to local gossip. But there had been nothing of interest.

A year and they were still where they started. Some of the knights were beginning to lose hope, and Seteth was doing his best to keep them together, but he wasn’t Rhea. He wasn’t their leader, or even their comrade. They only followed him because he was the only person who had a connection to her.

Flayn found him in the woods surrounding the small town they were visiting that night.

“It is hard to believe it’s been a year.” She said. “It feels so much longer.”

Seteth nodded. “A year and we have no information on where Rhea or your professor might be.” It was agonizing to think of all the things he wished to say to both of them.

He and Rhea had argued before the battle, Seteth demanding answers as to why Byleth had changed the way he had. She had brushed him off, giving him a vague answer that was to imply she didn’t know. But he knew she had had something to do with it. And he had raised his voice at her. Not to a yelling tone, but enough that she had dismissed him for the day, refusing to speak further about the topic.

And Byleth. He had wanted so much more time with him. They were meant to go stargazing. He had promised to talk to Flayn about how their relationship was developing. He had wanted to help Byleth with his new power and watch him grow into the hero Fodlan had apparently needed him to be.

“Flayn,” He cleared his throat. “I had wanted to speak with you about this before everything happened, but there was no time.”

“Speak with me about what, father?”

“Your professor. Byleth.” Her eyes widened slightly at hearing him call the professor by his name. “He and I…” No they weren’t quite in a relationship. “I have feelings for him. And I believe he had them for me as well.”

“What? For how long?”

“A few months. But we talked about it shortly after his transformation. Until then, I thought he was simply being friendly.”

“Father! That is wonderful!”

“It is?”

Flayn nodded. “I am quite fond of the professor.”

Seteth wanted to ask about she felt after her mother, but he couldn’t think about her with Byleth missing.

“I miss him, Flayn.”

\---

Two years turned into three, and then to four, and still, they had no sign of either of them. The knights were beginning to fall apart under him. The land was ravaged by war. The Kingdom was being torn down from the outside, and the inside.

The Alliance had been sparred so far, thankfully, thanks to Claude’s tactics of manipulated the lords around him. Seteth found himself spending most of his time in Alliance territory. That had been the class Byleth had chosen to lead, and part of him felt like if he were to show up, he’d go to his old students.

And it was the safest place for Flayn now.

The anniversary of the battle was coming up, and Flayn had requested they go visit the monastery in remembrance. He’d agreed in the hopes that perhaps in the last four years, something will have turned up.

Instead what they found were bandits.

The monastery was still standing, but parts of it had been brought to rubble. Hiding in the shadows, Seteth saw a bandit sentry scan the area.

It made sense, with no one to lead the church from the monastery, it would have been attacked. And with the knights off looking for Rhea, it was defenseless with many priceless treasures.

His heart sank to see the place he once called home fall to this. He wanted to take the bandits out himself, but he knew he was vastly outnumbered. And Flayn was with him.

But these bandits meant no one had been here. Not Rhea, not Byleth, not anyone who might have information.

They quietly retreated, finding a town down the river. In the privacy of an inn room, Seteth sat on the bed provided, burying his face in his hands. Four years of fruitless searching. Not even the smallest rumor to go on. The land was falling apart and it wasn’t looking good.

The weight of the church and his friends’ futures felt crushing. More than anything, he wanted to go back to things four years ago. He had tried to not let despair grip him at the situation but now it felt truly hopeless.

It had been so long, and they had gotten nowhere. He couldn’t give up, but he didn’t quite know how to keep moving forward anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seteth is a bit harder for me to write compared to Byleth. At least his mentality. 
> 
> But I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> EDIT: i forgot i had to format this chapter ug h


	21. Chapter 21

“How long do you plan to sleep?” 

Her voice roused him from his slumber. “Sothis?” 

“Come on, get up!” He didn’t want to open his eyes. He’d been having a nice nap. “Are you a child? Time to get up!” 

He’d missed this. Getting scolded by her was annoying but it was endearing. He also knew she wouldn’t let him rest peacefully. 

Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. The warm, comforting blackness that had surrounded him faded away. 

Instead of Sothis, a face he longed to see again, it was a stranger’s. His chest tightened up. Oh, right. She was gone now. 

The man helped him to his feet, asking him if he was okay. When he mentioned the year, Byleth finally tuned in. Five years. 

He had to get to the monastery. He’d made a promise. 

\---

Of course Claude had been waiting for him. And of course the rest of his students had been late to the party. Leave it to the Golden Deer to be late to a party they organized. 

All of them had changed so much. He could almost believe five years had passed. 

They made quick work of the bandits taking refuge at the monastery. It was as they fought that Byleth realized the damage that battle had done to the town. Buildings missing roofs and walls, fences torn down, the walkways overgrown. 

He wondered if the monastery was so different.

After the battle had been won, quite easily, they’d all grown stronger without him, Claude cheered Byleth’s return. His students all joined in, saying how much they’d missed him, and how they’d never given up hope on him.

It was strange to him. He didn’t feel like he was meant to be five years older. Then again, his father had never really told him his age to begin with. But five years was a long time. 

Claude filled him in on the state of things. The monastery had been abandoned after that day. Rhea had gone missing. The Knights were constantly searching for her but had been scattered without a true head of church. The Empire had conquered the Kingdom and was beginning to set its sights on the Alliance.

It seemed things were a real mess. 

But of course, Claude had a plan. He insisted they all stay here for the night and he would fill them all in in the morning. Everyone left, heading off to their old rooms, which hadn’t been occupied since their time at the academy. 

Byleth stepped into his. It was the same plain room as it always had been. His bed was still a mess, his desk had too many papers, and his father’s journal.

His dad.

He’d been dead for over five years now. 

Byleth picked up the journal and sat on his bed. He flipped though it quickly. It was dusty, but unchanged. The words hadn’t faded at all. He doesn’t know why he expected them to. They were a sealed room with no weather to damage them. 

He looked to his desk. The old portrait of him and his father was still there too. He took it into his hands, running his fingers over his dad’s face. So long ago now.

He needed to go to his father’s grave. He quickly pulled his coat back on and headed out to the cemetery. He was relieved to see it was unharmed. His father’s name was still legible, but he’d have reengrave it soon. 

Byleth took a seat on the grass, leaning against the gravestone. He turned his head upward, gazing up at the stars. They hadn’t changed either. 

They were in the middle of a war. He knew the places he’d once gone to as a mercenary had probably been ravaged by fighting. He wondered how Remire had faired. He knew his dad would have been worried.

He shifted his thoughts to the night he disappeared. The last thing he remembered was knocking a Demonic Beast off of that dragon who was probably Rhea. Pieces before were a bit fuzzy. He knew he was leading his students away. He knew Edelgard had declared war. 

Seteth kissed him.

Seteth. Where was he? Was he off with the knights looking for Rhea? He knew they were close. There was no way he would have died, right? 

This morning, afternoon, some time during this day, Sothis had woken him up. She woke herself, to wake him. He closed his eyes and tried to bring himself back to her throne. Nothing but the inside of his eyes. So she still wasn’t here.

He pulled a strand of his hair in front of his eyes. It was still that same green it’d turned after she gave him her power. He wondered if that was the reason he’d slept for 5 years. Everything was just as confusing as it had been before he disappeared. 

Not that he had any idea what happened while he was missing. Not a single memory flickered anywhere in his head. Just that dragon, and then Sothis scolding him for sleeping. 

He knew there was no dwelling on the past, especially a past you weren’t even a part of, but it was hard not to be curious. Byleth sighed to himself. He stood up, brushing the dirt from his coat. There would be time to think on this in the morning. Who knew what tomorrow would bring?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback on the Seteth chapter~


	22. Chapter 22

A loud knocking woke him from sleep. Byleth blinked awake, taking in his room. Oh right, he was supposed to have class today. 

He stood up, sliding his boots on before going to answer the door. Swinging the door open, he expected Claude to have some question, or one of his other students.

Flayn threw herself at him. He stumbled back as she wrapped her arms around him. 

“Professor! It’s so good to see you again!” 

The sleep slowly faded from his brain, and he remembered that it was five years since he’d seen her. 

“Yes. It’s quite a relief.” He looked up from Flayn’s head to see Seteth standing at the door too. 

“Seteth.” Everything he’d felt before the five year gap in his memory came flooding back. He gave him a soft smile, getting one in return. 

Flayn pulled back, holding onto Byleth’s hands. “Tell us, professor, where did you go?” 

“Yes, the last we saw you, you were assisting Rhea with those Demonic Beasts.” 

“I was asleep. I think.” 

“Asleep?” Flayn questioned. “For five years? That seems quite unlikely.” 

Byleth shrugged. “I woke up yesterday.”

Seteth stepped into the room himself. “Well, anyway, we heard about the bandits being cleared out, and so came to see if it was true.”

“And we found Claude and the others! To think all of my classmates would be here. I’d almost forgotten about our promise before the Ball.” Byleth could tell Flayn was about to go into one of her rambles. 

Seteth could feel it too. “Flayn, let us leave the professor to get ready for the day. We’ve clearly woken him up.” 

“Alright. But you have to meet us for breakfast today! We’ll be in the dining hall!” 

Byleth just nodded and Flayn ran off. Seteth watched her, hanging back for a moment. 

He reached out and put his hand on Byleth’s arm. “It truly is wonderful to see you again, Byleth.” 

Byleth watched him pull his hand off slowly. He wanted to ask him to stay for a moment, but knew they couldn’t right now. Claude was expecting him soon too. 

\---

So Rhea was missing as well. 

Claude was on the right path, saying that he would assume the Empire was holding her in their capital. He wanted to combine the forces of their class and the knights under the Crest of Flames. Byleth wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but knew something had to be done. And Claude’s schemes had never failed before. 

After meeting with the knights who followed Seteth and Flayn back to the monastery, Claude excused himself to deal with some Alliance business. That left the rest of his evening free. Maybe he would go see his father again. He had five years of visiting to catch up on. 

“Professor!” Flayn caught his attention before he could go any further with that thought. “Are you busy tonight?” She had a strange look in her eye. He hadn’t seen it before, but it almost looked like the glint Claude used to get when he had a terrible idea. 

“No.” 

She gave him a grin. Odd. He hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to her this morning at breakfast. The rest of his students all wanted to catch up with their professor as well. 

“What are you planning?” 

Flayn’s eyes widened. “What? I am not planning anything, professor.” 

Byleth raised his eyebrow.

“Fine! I was going to set up a tea date with my father for you.” Oh. Seteth had told her. And apparently she was fine with it. That was nice. Though, he did feel weird, having someone else who knew. “Did you not want to spend time with him?”

“That’s not it.” Byleth stopped her. “It’s just strange.” 

Flayn opened her mouth, no doubt to ask him to elaborate, but Seteth took that moment to appear himself. 

“Ah! Father!” Flayn startled at his presence. 

Seteth gave her a soft smile. “Might I steal the professor away from you?” 

Flayn giggled and nodded, taking off in a hurry. She was certainly an odd one sometimes.

“Can I ask what you two were talking about?” Seteth asked.

“She was trying to set us up.” 

“Oh.” Seteth cleared his throat. “I did… tell her about us. While you were away. I hope she hasn’t been too—” He stopped to try and find the word.

“It’s fine. You said you were going to.” 

Seteth nodded. “Anyway. Perhaps, if you don’t have any other business today, we could take a walk? As we used to?”

Used to. That was a strange term. For Byleth, it had only been 2 days since he’d seen Seteth and the others. But it had been five years for them. 

Byleth nodded and followed Seteth toward the gates. So, they were going out of town. During the struggle with the bandits yesterday, Byleth had taken note of how bad the town looked. He missed the days of coming into town with his father. 

“Now that the monastery has been reclaimed, I am sure the merchants will come back. And with merchants, customers will follow. The townspeople will return soon enough.” Seteth said, as if answering his thoughts. 

Seteth continued walking, heading out of the town into the woods surrounding it. They walked in the comfortable silence that Byleth was so fond of. The sun was setting behind them, washing the forest in a warm orange light. It was hard to see how things could be so bad.

They came up on what looked like an old campsite. It looked like it had been abandoned for a while.

Seteth took a seat on one of the logs surrounding the old fire pit. Before Byleth could sit down with him, Seteth let out a shaky sigh. 

“It’s hard to believe you’re really back.” He whispered, staring at the ground below his feet. 

“It’s hard to believe it’s been five years.” Byleth finally took seat next to him.

“You were asleep?” 

Byleth shrugged. “It felt like I was asleep.” Sothis had scolded him for sleeping at least. 

“I was beginning to lose hope. We never found a body, but I watched you fall through that wall…. But Flayn and your students all believed you’d be back.” His voice was thick, like he was holding himself back. 

Five years would do that, he guessed. The only time Byleth had ever really taken stock in time passing was as he grew taller. But five years was a long time. And taking the situation of the world in made it probably seem longer.

“I’m sorry.” Byleth reached out for Seteth’s hand. For once, he didn’t stutter in his movement. 

Seteth’s shoulders shook, and he took his hand back. Byleth was surprised, but as soon as he lost his hand, Seteth wrapped his arms around him. 

Byleth hadn’t been hugged since he was a teenager. He and his dad weren’t very touchy with each other. He had never liked it at as a kid, but this was different. 

Seteth’s arms tightened around him, and he could hear his breath shaking, like he was trying to hold back tears. What was he supposed to do here? Hug him back?

Awkwardly, he moved to reciprocate the movement. He didn’t know where to put his hands. Had he ever hugged his dad back? He couldn’t remember at this moment. 

But holding Seteth warmed something in his chest. His mind went back to the night he disappeared. Seteth’s lips….

Before he could continue with that thought, Seteth pulled back, bringing a hand to his face. He took a deep breath before clearing his throat. “I’m sorry, Byleth. I got caught up for a moment.”

Byleth shrugged. “It’s fine.” He didn’t want to be the reason Seteth looked like that. “I’ve never really hugged someone….”

Seteth froze, giving him a skeptical look. “What?” A hint of a smile came to his face. 

“Dad and I never really did. And when he did, I didn’t hug back.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.” 

“You are quite a strange one, Byleth.” A hand came to his face, brushing his hair from his ear. “But I would be a liar if I didn’t say that that made you all the more interesting.” 

Byleth reached up to hold his hand. He was glad Seteth seemed to still hold feelings for him. Five years had passed for the man, and clearly they had been a hard five years. 

“Seteth, about what happened.” Byleth tensed up, thinking about it. “Before the battle….” 

“The kiss?” 

“Yeah.” Byleth was having trouble meeting his eyes. 

“What about it?” 

He couldn’t find the words to say what he wanted. Or to ask. He just tightened his fingers around Seteth’s.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to stutter something out, Seteth just laughed and pulled him in.

This was way better than the short kiss they shared before that battle. Seteth’s hand on his was warm and his lips were better than he remembered. The rest of the world seemed distant, kissing him like this. 

Seteth pulled back, giving him a sweet smile. “Well? Was that what you were asking about?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP
> 
> my work schedule kinda sucks this weekend so i might go back to every two days for the updates. Dont be alarmed! 
> 
> thanks for reading


	23. Chapter 23

His blade crashed to the wet grass with an echo ringing out across the field. A shadowed figure stood over a body at the end of his sword, cackling. He tried to bring his sword back in to swing again, but it wouldn’t respond.

The figured turned around to show him a wrinkled, decaying face. The cackling chilled him to his bones, bouncing off the run down stone walls surrounding them.

The body laying on the ground was motionless, dagger in its back. He knew who it was.

A voice rang in his head. Familiar. Whispering in his ear.

“Your fault.”

The cackling got louder. He felt to his knees, dropping his sword to the ground. Desperate to get away from the noise, he covered his ears. It didn’t work. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Green hair burst behind his eyelids. He couldn’t see her face, but he knew she was scowling at him. “You slept for too long….”

\---

Air rushed into his lungs, pulling him awake. Blinking rapidly, Byleth found himself staring at his ceiling. He looked to his side, his desk sitting where it always had been, everything in place.

Sitting up, he tried to remember what had woken him up.

A dream. He hadn’t had one of those in quite some time. Since before he even came here to the monastery. And it had to be about that day.

It was still dark outside, probably a few hours before sunrise. Byleth stumbled around to light a few candles in his room. He wouldn’t be able to sleep for a bit.

Sitting at his desk, he picked up some of the old papers he had never got to grade. Seteth had filled him in on what had happened after the battle and how the evacuation hadn’t allowed students back at the monastery. They never would have graduated.

It hadn’t seemed to affect them very much. They had all grown as fighters and into whatever position they were aiming for. That much was obvious from their last fight.

He stacked the papers up and put the pile on the floor next to the desk. He turned to his dad’s journal, resting his hand on the cover of it. His father still had words he had yet to hear.

His eyes wondered away from the journal, to a forgotten book hidden under some unreturned library books. His own journal.

He pulled it out. He had forgotten about it, flipping through the few pages he had filled out. His dad used to lecture him if he didn’t fill it out. But once he hit a certain age, his dad had stopped, just occasionally reminding him.

The last entry he’d done was before he’d found Flayn. Why did he stop writing in it? Of course, he’d never cared for it, but so much had happened around that time. The kind of things his dad always said he’d want to document.

And now that they were at war, he probably should leave something behind if he didn’t make it through. It was a dark thought but dying had never really bothered him. At least, he never thought about it much for it to bother him.

He set aside his journal and picked his dad’s up. Maybe it was time to read the rest of it.

He opened up to the last page he had read. The one about his fifth birthday. He reread it, his chest squeezing at the memory of the last time he had.

Shaking it off, he turned the page. His dad went on about several mercenary jobs he’d taken around the time, often talking about leaving Byleth behind during them. There was nothing he didn’t already know from the stories his dad would tell him to try and get him to sleep as a kid.

An entry from a few years later caught his attention.

_A church soldier happened through the town we were staying in._  
_ He was in the same tavern as me, staring at me. I knew_  
_ he recognized me, but I had to play like I didn’t notice._

_If Lady Rhea found out I were alive at this time, I wonder what she_  
_ would do. She was never very good at forgiving. And if she found_  
_ out about Byleth? Or even if I were forced back into her service,_  
_ and had to leave him behind…._

_I don’t want to think about it._

_But I do often wonder how he would have done, raised in the church._  
_ He knows nothing of the stories now, but they are important to_  
_ Fodlan. I also know I wouldn’t have stayed if he’d been a normal_  
_ baby without his mother. Too many memories._

Another mention of his mother. And yet, his dad had almost refused to talk to him about her. Only mentioning her in passing a handful of times.

He thought back to the time Rhea mentioned her. She had known his mother. But it seemed no one else in the monastery had. She didn’t even seem to have a name.

He had opened this up, hoping for some memories of his father to calm him down after the dream, but now his head was reeling, trying to piece together his life. There was so much about his parents, and his birth, and the reason he could talk to Sothis at one point. It was endlessly frustrating.

Byleth knew he had to get some sleep, or he’d be useless tomorrow. He couldn’t afford that in a war. So he laid back down. Maybe he could talk to Seteth about some of it in the morning. He knew Rhea better than anyone.

But bringing her up brought pain to his eyes. Flayn had mentioned once they were close friends, so it was understandable. Seteth always seemed formal with her, but that’s how he was around others. He only called him by professor in front of others. Maybe asking would just cause him more pain about her disappearance.

This was too much to think about. Anything with Seteth and anything with his dad. He wished he had Sothis to talk to right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda filler i guess. But hey. 
> 
> IDK if any of you have played Horizon: Zero Dawn, but i love the feature in that game where you can go back to Rost's grave and tell him about your adventures as Aloy. And I just wish you could do that with Jeralt's grave. It added a lot to that game's emotional tone.
> 
> Anyway i almost feel like i need to play the Church route at this point to get facts right and all. IDK but i hope you all enjoy!


	24. Chapter 24

“I have not been stargazing since Flayn was small.”

It was a rare moment of reprieve for them. They had recaptured the Great Bridge, and now there was only preparations to invade the Empire to do. There was only so much Byleth could do, as Claude was the leader of the Alliance and the one with all the schemes. Only fighting and morale was left to him. 

“My dad and I used to do it often.” 

They were out in one of the fields surrounding the monastery town. Byleth had chosen not to go to his favorite spot, not until after this mess was over. He hadn’t told Seteth that, but he felt like it was right. 

“I know you aren’t the most emotional of people, Byleth, but I want to ask. How are you doing? With your father and… everything?” 

“It’s overwhelming.” Byleth searched the sky to pick out his dad’s favorite constellation. 

Seteth waited for him to continue. He had wanted to leave it at that, but that wasn’t how this kind of thing worked. He had read that anyway. Claude had smuggled some strange books back that Seteth hadn’t stashed away yet. 

“He left me his journal.” He closed his eyes, unable to find the constellation. He forgot what time of year it was supposed to be around. “He talks about my mother. And later, me. A lot.”

“Your mother.” Seteth paused. “Didn’t he say he lost her to illness after you were born?” 

“That was his story to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently, she was a nun at the monastery.” 

Seteth sat up on his elbow to look at him. “What?” 

Byleth shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “She died in childbirth.” 

Seteth laid back down. “So, you never got to meet her.” Byleth nodded. “And judging by the way you speak of her, Jeralt never told you about her, either. It must have wounded him greatly to lose her, then.” 

They fell silent, Byleth enjoying the gentle breeze and cool night hair on his face. He turned to look at Seteth, who’s eyes were on the sky. The moonlight on his skin was… he struggled to find a word for it. Beautiful, was one. But it didn’t feel like enough. 

He knew that the few moments they had stolen away with each other between the last few battles, had made his feelings stronger, but he was still in uncharted territory. Especially in a moment like this, where they were unlikely to be interrupted. 

There were many things he wanted to ask Seteth. But it never felt like a good time. Most of the questions were about Rhea, and every time Seteth brought her up, his eyes got dark and sad. He hated that look. 

But he would have to at some point.

Seteth turned his head to meet Byleth’s gaze. 

“You have a question in your eyes.”

“Do I?” Byleth steeled his face. 

“I can tell the differences by now, Byleth.” 

Byleth hesitated. “I don’t want to ruin the moment.” 

Seteth nodded for him to continue. Sighing, Byleth went on.

“My dad also wrote about Rhea.” 

Seteth looked away. “Ah.”

“Most of the time, he praised her. But my birth… changed his mind.”

Seteth didn’t respond. Byleth watched as his jaw flexed and his mind raced.

“She knows something about me neither of us did.” Byleth finished. He didn’t want to continue with the way Seteth looked. 

“I see.” His voice was strained. “She did… always seem to know more about you than she would say.” He sighed, sitting up. Byleth watched his shoulders fall. “And after your hair changed… she became avoidant with me. Secretive. But there was a happiness I hadn’t seen in years.”

“Happiness….” Byleth turned back to the sky. A cloud had moved in, covering most of the stars. 

“She had said we would talk after you visited the tomb, but….”

“Then Edelgard.” Byleth finished. He knew the chain of events. 

“Yes. She often seems composed and serene on the surface, but she had a deep fire in her. When she feels wronged, her temper is frightening.”

“I noticed.” He remembered the anger than vibrated through his chest when she commanded him to take Edelgard out. It had been too much for him to react. 

“The few days we had, she could not be calmed. And so, we did not talk.” 

Byleth sat up, tentatively putting his hand on Seteth’s shoulder, as he often did to him. It was strange, initiating the contact, but his hand felt warm there. Now was not the time to be thinking about this, but he did. 

Seteth’s hand came up to hold his. Seteth’s eyes met his, and they were still sad, but warmer than before. 

“I am worried about her.”

“We’ll find her.” Byleth promised, again. He had made this promise many times already, but Seteth still needed to hear it. 

“I know you will.” Seteth gave him a sad smile. “Forgive me. I am ruining this night.”

Byleth shook his head. “I brought it up.” 

Seteth turned to face him. “We are both at fault then. It seems we cannot relax.” The smile was brighter now. The sadness was still on the edge, but Seteth was pushing it away. 

Byleth pushed it away too. He’d already spent too much time thinking about it. And now that Seteth knew, they could figure it out together. 

A hand came to his face, as it often did when Seteth and he spent time alone. Soon, his lips followed. 

Seteth was always so warm. This had quickly become one of his favorite things to do. His thumb moved to stroke his cheek, making Byleth’s chest tighten. 

He pulled back too soon, if Byleth was being honest with his feelings. But the soft smile and warm eyes made up for it. And he was still holding his face. Seteth looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself. That was fine. He liked the silence. 

Laying back down, he pulled Seteth with him, a light chuckle coming from him. They laid closer than they had a few minutes ago, their shoulders touching. Seteth had made it clear he enjoyed holding Byleth, but he still wasn’t quite comfortable with that. He liked it, but he liked talking too. He just preferred silence over it. 

The cloud that had moved over the sky had floated on, giving the stars back. He remembered something about a star was a story among the church, but he’d forgotten. He had never paid attention to that stuff. 

A head moved slowly onto his shoulder. Instinctively, he tensed up, looking over. Seteth was still watching the sky.

“Is this okay?” He whispered. So he had wanted more.

Byleth forced himself to relax. Seteth wasn’t going to do anything. He didn’t know why this made him tense up. “Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think i keep forgetting this is meant to be a romance and too caught up in Byleth head time lol
> 
> but here~


	25. Chapter 25

Sitting out by the fishing pond, Byleth tried to distract himself from the battle at Gronder Field. It was nothing like the friendly match they’d had five years ago. This one ended with blood and pain, Edelgard retreating and Dimitri following her in a blind rage. The scouts hadn’t got back to him as to what happened in the aftermath, but he already knew it wasn’t good news. 

Nothing in war was good news. 

But now they had a path to Enbarr. To hopefully end all this. And they had recently heard that Rhea was possibly there as well. She would have answers about everything that happened to him. She could tell him why she wanted him, of all people, to lead the church, despite knowing nothing of the faith. 

He still missed having Sothis to keep him company. She had only been with him a short time, but it had been during the most trying time of his life. She had helped him push through his father’s death. And to know that girl who constantly scolded him for his actions and teased him was the goddess….

This wasn’t helping. All he seemed to be doing was dwelling on the past now. 

He cast his line out again, trying to find something better to think about. Despite how much he didn’t care for his position as the army leader, he had to seem put together. 

“Professor!” He turned to see Flayn walking toward him.

It had been some time since they last talked. They often had meals together, but between war meetings with Claude, church meetings with Seteth and the knights, and trying to find any alone time with Seteth, he hadn’t been able to speak to her much. Just a few words here and there.

“Flayn.” 

“Are you fishing?” 

“Not really.” 

Her face fell, but she quickly hid it. “I see.”

“Would you like me to?” 

“Oh yes! The fish you catch always taste the best. You must have some special gift!” 

Byleth rose and eyebrow but picked his pole up anyway, baiting the hook and tossing the line out. Flayn’s face broke into a smile as soon as it hit the water. This girl was way too into fish.

“So, professor, I came over to ask you something.” Flayn was watching the line intently. 

“And that is?” 

“I was going to ask about my father.” Byleth looked at her, waiting for her to continue. “Your relationship with him.”

She didn’t seem to want to say more. He had no idea what she was asking. 

“Yes?” 

“He seems to be… happy.”

“That’s not a question.” 

“I suppose not. But it is still nice. He has let me be more and stopped harassing anyone I choose to talk to.” 

Byleth stopped and looked at her. “Does he do that?” 

“Often times it is just because he is so overprotective. One time, he went around to everyone in the monastery and asked their feelings toward me.” 

Byleth thought back to the first time they had really interacted outside of monastery business. Seteth insisting he needed a report on Flayn’s progress in his class, waking him up absurdly early that one morning. 

“That… sounds like him.” 

“But he has stopped! I am most grateful.” 

He simply nodded in response. What did you say to that? He already felt a bit awkward with Flayn talking about him being with her dad. And them having to masquerade as siblings. But now she was saying she was thankful that he was seeing him. 

“Tell me, professor, he is not being overbearing toward you now, is he? That would be just like him!” 

He shook his head. Seteth did push him a bit to express himself more, which was something else entirely, but they were their own men, even if they had feelings toward each other. 

“Oh good.” 

She fell silent while Byleth reeled in a fish. It was an average size, but he let her take it of the hook anyway. He cast out again. Her eyes stayed on the line in the water as she seemed to search her brain for something else.

It wasn’t like her to fall short on conversation.

“Soon we will be marching on Enbarr, correct?” 

He nodded again. As soon as they could secure a path through. 

“Did I tell I was born in Enbarr?” 

He thought back. She mentioned it once, he thought. But he couldn’t recall when, so he just shrugged. 

“My mother and father met in a church there.”

Seteth’s late wife. He was, as usual, glad he didn’t express emotion very well. 

“It feels strange to be going back under the circumstances.”

Byleth didn’t respond. He couldn’t imagine her situation. He had been to Enbarr once when he was in his early teenage years. A fresh new mercenary under his father, they stopped at the market while traveling through. He hadn’t taken note of anything there.

“Where were you born, professor?”

“Here.” 

“What?” 

“The monastery.” 

Flayn seemed surprised. “Are you positive? I thought your first time here was when you began as a professor?” 

He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to tell her. Seteth knew, and even Claude knew parts of it. Though, most of it, Claude had just pieced together himself. 

“My mother was supposedly a nun here.” 

“Supposedly? Did something happen to take you away from here?” 

“She died.” 

“What was her name?” He just shrugged. “Did Captain Jeralt never speak of her?”

“Not until we came here.” 

“How odd. I wonder why.” 

And that was where he stopped sharing. Flayn was an odd girl, but he didn’t care to taint her image of Rhea and tell her of whatever she might have done. Part of him suspected she had something to do with his mother dying in childbirth, but he hadn’t voiced that to anyone yet. He hoped he was wrong, and that would have happened either way, since it had to, but who knew. 

“It seems I have brought a dark cloud over you, professor. I did not mean to.” 

He shook his head. It was fine. It seemed his thoughts did nothing but turn dark lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you might notice this story is in a series now. I sorta accidentally wrote sex instead of writing this chapter. Woops! 
> 
> But if you want check it out. It's from a chapter that hasn't been written yet, I just got the weird vibe to do it you know. 
> 
> Anyway! Please enjoy! I'm finally cranking through the church route (I'M SORRY EDELGARD) so there's that. THERES SO MUCH SETETH UGH his voice is so nice and i love him guys. okay im done.


	26. Chapter 26

The plan to take Fort Merceus was progressing nicely, if Claude was telling him the truth. But his schemes had never let them down before. If anyone could make such a ridiculous idea into a battle strategy, it was him.

But he was spending all his time in the library or his room, scribbling away, so war meetings were temporarily postponed until he was done. And Byleth had too much time on his hands. 

Part of it reminded him of his days as a teacher. But even then, he hadn’t had this much free time. He’d exhausted tending to his plants, he’d been kicked out of the fishing pond for catching too many too quickly, and he could only spend so much time staring at a gravestone thinking before he went crazy. 

What was it Ignatz said once? It was strange he didn’t have a hobby? How was one supposed to have a hobby in a war time? 

He could go train, but there was only so much he could do without exhausting himself to a point of injury. And his sword was currently with the blacksmith along with most of the armies, getting touched up before the battle. 

Byleth let himself fall back on the grass of the graveyard, and stare up at the clouds. Puffy, light, little things. He hadn’t cared for cloud watching when he was a child, despite how many times his dad tried to sway him. And he still didn’t. 

Sighing, he closed his eyes. He wanted to see Seteth, but he was running errands for the church and wasn’t set to be back until later. Part of him tried to think of what he did before he and Seteth began spending time together, but he couldn’t remember much. Just staying in his room, writing lesson plans, wandering around the monastery.

A cat came up to him and laid on his chest, lazily purring. Well, that was a welcome distraction. If he was petting a cat, he wasn’t really wasting time, was he? 

Closing his eyes, he took in the sun on his skin and the sound of his furry friend purring on his chest, blending with the sound the grass rustling under the wind. It was a shame such a peaceful day was during a war. And it was shame he was enjoying it alone. 

He supposed that was okay. He used to appreciate alone time. It had been his only escape from the rowdy mercenaries his dad always recruited to his company. They had been exhausting. He wondered what happened to most of them. None of them had followed them here to the monastery. How would they take the news that he was gone? And the changes Byleth had gone through? 

Opening his eyes, he pulled a strand of hair from his face, looking at it as best he could. He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to the green. Every time he passed a mirror or reflective surface, he had to stop and look at it and remember that was him now. But Seteth and Flayn had both expressed how charming it was, several times. 

Even some of his students mentioned how it suited him better.

He decided to put that to the side again. Maybe one day it would look natural to him. 

His mind drifted to how he’d ended up here. Sure, he would have been involved in this war if he’d stayed a mercenary. That was just how it worked. But instead of just being a face on the battlefield, he was THE face. They raised his Crest as a battle flag. A simple mercenary boy who spent most of his life in backwater towns across Fodlan. 

Remire Village…. 

He sat up, suddenly overcome with the need to see the village. It had been over five years since the tragedy there. Had the people gone back? Was it still abandoned? 

He looked toward the sun, trying to remember how long it took to get there. He could maybe make it by morning. But he still needed to pack a bag and grab some food for the road too. 

The cat he’d been petting scurried off at his sudden motion. He felt bad for a moment before standing up and heading toward his room. 

Quickly, he stuffed an old canvas tent in his bag, along with a few other things he might need for the trip. A stop at the dining hall got him some jerky and dried fruit as well. A wave to the gatekeeper, and a promise to make it back safely, and he was off.

The town below the monastery was slowly coming back to life. The buildings were all in states of repair, some needing only a new coat of paint left. Stores opened back up, children returned to the streets to play. It had given hope to many of the soldiers to see. Byleth didn’t know about hope, but he did enjoy seeing it. 

As he passed the town gates, he hoped he would find a similar sight in Remire. 

The road there was near deserted. A few travelers passed him, heads down, clearly folks seeking refuge. The last time he’d traveled this route, his students had been talking nonstop. Some excited to solve a mystery, others worried about what the mystery would bring.

Remire was typically a day and a half’s walk from the monastery. As the sun began to set, Byleth wondered why he thought he could make it so soon. But now that he was moving, he might as well keep going until he felt he had to sleep. 

Night draped itself over the land, the bright light of the full moon washing everything out. Byleth’s ears were on full alert, listening for anything in the bushes. He remembered traveling at night with his dad, bandits hiding in the trees, waiting for an easy steal. 

It seemed nothing would jump at him tonight though. It was as still as his own chest. Now there was something he didn’t care to think about. 

As the sun began to show itself once more, he saw the old town sign hanging over the trail. It had always been kind of broken down, but now it was nearly falling apart. That wasn’t a good sign. 

But as he entered the town, he saw a couple farmers tending to animals in the early morning. Farming had at least come back then? A few of them turned to him and waved, friendly smiles on their face. 

“Oh my goodness. Is that who I think it is?” He turned to see an elderly lady hobbling toward him. 

“It is! It’s Jeralt’s boy!” She caught up to him, wrapping her arms around him. He stood, stiff, confused. “It has been so long.” 

Byleth just nodded. 

“Tell me, child, how is your old man? I’m surprised he hasn’t visited us in so long.”

Byleth’s eyes fell. “He died. Five years ago.”

“Oh.” The lady’s face turned from warm to tired and sad in an instant. “He was a good man, that Jeralt.”

He just nodded in response again.

“Quiet as ever, I see. But a man ought to keep things close to the chest, you know? Come, come, you must be hungry.” He wasn’t, but she didn’t listen and dragged him by the hand to a small diner. 

He had been here before, many times, with his father. Usually after mercenary missions. 

“Your father loved this place. I remember him bringing you in when you were just barely able to walk.” He had been here when he was a toddler? She called out to the girl working the tables. Of course, she was greeted with a friendly smile. The old lady ordered for both of them, forcing him to sit at a table in the center of the room. “Tell me, child. What brings you back to Remire if it is not your father? Don’t take this the wrong way, but you never seemed to like it here.”

“I wondered how it was faring, after—”

“Oh yes. That. A dark time in our humble little village. Many families left. But others stayed. And new ones passed through. We have struggled, as any have during this terrible war, but to struggle is to survive, my dear.” 

That was nice to hear. 

“We have enough food to go around. Bandits leave us alone, a recent rumor has come up that our land is haunted, and the land still gives us all we need.” She smiled at him. “I can see you have changed quite a bit as well.”

He nodded. “I guess.” 

“Many in the village have wondered about your father, after he came with the Knights of Seiros to help us. I suppose now I can spread the sad news. But, I can also spread the news that his child is alive and well.” She lowered her voice. “I’m sure that will make a fair few ladies in town quite happy.” 

Oh goddess, why? 

She continued on and on, even after their food came out. It was something his dad always ordered for him, but he had never really liked. It was fine, but now, eating it just made him sad. 

“Is there still an inn?” Byleth asked, half way through.

“Oh yes!” She went on to talk about the inn and how to get there, finally leaving the idea of him staying in town to settle with some village girl behind. 

After the meal, she walked him to inn, introducing him to the innkeep, who insisted he stay for free. It was still early morning, but after walking all night, he decided he would sleep a few hours anyway.

Laying in the inn bed, he could hear the town start to wake up. Shops opening for the day, children rushing off to morning lessons at the small school house. He remembered how upset his father was at the destruction of this village. 

And he remembered how frustrated he was that he didn’t understand why. 

He had a better grasp why certain things hurt now. After losing his dad and Sothis, falling for Seteth, and going through this war, he knew he still didn’t feel as strongly as others did, but he could understand it better. 

And talking to that woman, he knew now that his dad saw this as their home. They had left and come back many times in his childhood, but they always came back. And then he had to watch it burn to the ground. 

He closed his eyes, trying to see the village he had kind of grown up in, and with the image of his dad smiling at him, telling a bad story, he finally drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I beat the church route last night, finally. After procrastinating on it lol. Also? Hated that ending yep. Anyway.
> 
> Please enjoy!~


	27. Chapter 27

He didn’t sleep long, going back out after a few hours to check on the old house he and his dad used to live in. They had ended up leaving in a bit of hurry, his dad being basically dragged back to the church. He couldn’t remember if he’d cared about anything there, but it was worth a look at least. 

There was a hole in the door now, like a kid had used it for target practice with an axe. The door opened with a squeak, revealing the small home he had once lived in. Everything had a layer of dust on it. Even with the sun filtering in, it seemed too gray. 

It wasn’t like he or his dad had many sentimental things, so there wasn’t much to look at. He found a few books he had never got to finish reading but didn’t feel the need to. He almost wished there was something of his father to take back, but all they ever needed was their armor and weapons. They didn’t even have any pictures. 

Sighing, he went to his dad’s old room, glancing around. The bed was still unmade, though covered in grime from 5 years of neglect. The few books laying on the bookshelf in the corner were all things he’d read when he was younger, that his dad always said he would read to, but never did. There were a few notebooks filled with numbers, probably relating to the mercenary company, but nothing he could piece together.

There was nothing here for him. He closed the door to his dad’s room, leaning against it for a moment. It had been months, years rather, since his father died. But it still hurt. Was it supposed to? 

He left the house, deciding he’d rested enough for the journey back home. Looking back at the old house, he wondered if there’d be a reason to come back. It wasn’t like they had memories there. He certainly wasn’t attached to the old place. He hadn’t even really had feelings when he lived there.

The sun was starting set by the time he passed through the town gate again. The moon was covered by clouds tonight, threatening to rain on him. He hoped it would hold off until he got back to the monastery. 

Having visited Remire, he still didn’t understand why his dad had been so upset about the events there. Sure, it was awful for the human life lost, but he still couldn’t see it. He knew it was wrong, but even after all this time, he couldn’t relate to it. 

By the time the sun was back up, he was nearing the monastery again, having spent his night running over everything in his head. Perhaps when he returned, Claude would be nearly ready to move out, so they could get this war over with.

The first face he saw as he entered the monastery gates, was his friend the gatekeeper. The man gave him a huge grin, waving over his head. He walked up the steps to say hello.

“Good afternoon, professor! Did your trip go well?” Byleth nodded. “That’s great to hear! Everything has been quiet here.” 

He was about to say goodbye and head to his room, when he saw Seteth heading down from the stables. 

“Oh look, it’s Seteth! Say, professor, did you ever tell him—” 

“Byleth!” Seteth cut off whatever his friend was about to say. The way he called him made the gatekeeper give him a funny look. “You’re back.”

Byleth nodded toward him. 

“You didn’t tell me you were leaving.” 

“It was unplanned.”

“You went on an unplanned trip to… where?” Wait, was he upset? Byleth couldn’t quite tell. He was pretty sure he had told his friend where he was going, but had he relayed that message? Glancing over at him, Seteth decided to take Byleth’s hand and pull him around the corner toward the pond. 

“What’s going on?” 

“You didn’t take your sword.”

“It’s at the blacksmith’s. I took a sword, though.” Byleth motioned to the one on his hip. 

Seteth closed his eyes, breathing steadily for a moment before saying anything else. “Do you realize you are in charge of an army? What if we had only had a small window to attack?”

“Yes?” Byleth frowned slightly. “It was less than three days.” 

“But—”

“Are you mad at me?”

Seteth stopped. “I—” 

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before one of his students happened by. The student stopped to talk at length about some problem they were having, looking to their old professor for advice, as they all tended to. Seteth stood in the background, watching him. It was hard to focus, wondering if he was in trouble. 

After the student thanked him and walked away, Seteth came back over. “Can we talk somewhere else?” 

Nodding, Seteth just walked toward his room. He was silent the whole way, leaving Byleth to wonder what he had done wrong. Had Seteth ever been mad at him before? He had seen him yell at students and on the battlefield, but never at him directly. Usually, it was always toward someone breaking the rules or their enemies. 

Once they were in his room, Seteth sat at his desk chair, leaving Byleth by the door.

“I’m not mad.” He finally said. “I just….” He didn’t let himself finish. “Where did you even go?”

“Remire Village.” 

“Remire? Why?” That made Seteth finally meet his eyes. 

Byleth paused. “I… wanted to see if it was rebuilt.” To see if he could understand his father’s attachment to the place. 

“I remember before the war started, you were quite upset over that place.” 

“Was I?” He remembered. He just didn’t want to. 

“You said you didn’t understand your father. Or anyone.” Byleth shrugged. He knew he had kind of stormed off after that, to go lay down, but he didn’t want to talk about his weird feelings anymore. He wanted to know what he did to make Seteth seem so angry. “Did going back give you something?” 

“No.” Just an old lady talking his ear off and an empty house that made him miss his dad and wonder what was wrong with him yet again. 

“Byleth….” 

He shook his head. “Why were you angry at me?” 

“I wasn’t angry. I was just… worried.” Seteth brought a hand to his face. “I left for some errands in town, and I come back to hear that you go alone to who knows where.” 

“I told the gatekeeper.” 

“He seemed hesitant to tell me.” Typically, he loved gossip. “He seemed afraid I would try to follow you, for some reason.” 

“Would you have?”

“Maybe.” 

They fell silent for a few minutes, just staring at each other. It wasn’t like the silences Byleth enjoyed. It was heavy and awkward, and not at all like Seteth. 

Finally, with a sigh, Seteth broke the silence. “A part of me thought you might disappear again. With no one knowing where you were going. Or you were going to be ambushed.” 

Oh. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“You shouldn’t be. I should know better. I have seen you on the battlefield and during training. You have saved me more times than I can count. You are the man who saved my dear Flayn. I should have trusted you more.” 

“You don’t trust me?” He didn’t like that. He felt a frown on his face, but didn’t try to force it back. 

“I trust you. But… things have happened before.” 

He could tell by his tone it had been his wife. Now he really didn’t like it. He didn’t like this heavy hair between them, and he didn’t want to dwell on certain things he was too scared to ask about. 

“Seteth.” He stopped the man’s thoughts. “I’m fine.” 

He took the hint. “So did Remire get rebuilt?” 

Byleth nodded. “My old house is still there.” With the same empty walls it had had while they lived there. “It was still empty. Like it always was.”

He moved to sit on his bed, laying back against his pillow. “I still don’t understand why my dad liked it there.” 

“Sometimes, children aren’t meant to understand their parents.” 

It made sense, of course, but he had practically grown up there. On and off, anyway. It was more of a home base. 

Seteth got up from the chair, and came over to the bed, motioning as if asking to lay with him. Byleth nodded, moving over. His bed wasn’t big, but he didn’t care. He was just glad Seteth wasn’t really angry at him. 

They laid side by side, shoulders touching in silence for a while. Byleth once again mapped all the bumps on his ceiling and counted the bricks in his walls. 

“I always feel like something’s missing.” He whispered, more to himself, than anything else. Seteth turned his head to look at him.

“What do you mean?” 

A hand came to his chest. “A heartbeat. Attachment to a place. Something everyone else has. I don’t know.” He glanced over to Seteth before schooling his gaze back on the ceiling. “I’m just a mercenary who got thrown into all this.” 

Seteth studied his face for a moment, before kissing his cheek. The action warmed whatever laid in his chest. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on Seteth’s lips on his skin. 

“You might have started that way, but you’re someone very important. To the war, to your students… and to me.” 

Byleth finally looked at him. Going on a whim, he brought a hand up to Seteth’s face, as he often did to him. He brushed the lovely green hair from his face, moving to tuck it behind his ears.

When he felt the weird point, he sat up on his elbow. Seteth’s face immediately turned red. Brushing his hair back, Byleth found a long, pointed ear on his head. 

“Byleth—” Byleth shook his head, staring at it for another minute before laying down. He didn’t quite know what it meant, but his mind shifted back for a second to Rhea, and turning into a dragon. The ears reminded him of something. 

When he didn’t ask, the redness in Seteth’s face slowly disappeared. Byleth was still curious, but it didn’t matter too much, and he would rather just lay here with Seteth than talk anymore. 

He tried to fight the yawn that came over him. It was still the afternoon, but after walking all night, his body was exhausted. Seteth’s arm came over his waist, inviting him to the warmth of his chest. 

It didn’t take long for the warmth and the gentle hand on his back to lull him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's been so much art on tungle with Seteth's pointy ears and they are so cute god help me


	28. Chapter 28

They estimated the final preparations for the attack on Merceus would take three more days. Three more days until what could, potentially, be the final stretch of this war. From Merceus they would continue on into Enbarr. 

But until then, there was little for those in charge to do, leaving the final preparations to those who could prepare armor, and the scouts to report back. And that left Byleth and the others time to themselves.

Byleth had already exhausted the few things he enjoyed doing several days ago. So instead, he found himself in the training hall, whacking around dummies with an old axe he’d found. He still didn’t like the feel of it in his hands, but he didn’t want to use any of his swords.

As he set them back up, he heard someone enter the training room behind him. Turning to see, it was Seteth. 

His mind flashed back to several months ago, when they weren’t even quite friends. When he was so utterly confused about all the feelings he woke inside his chest. 

“Seteth.” 

“Oh, Byleth.” Seteth offered him a smile. Byleth was suddenly aware of how sweaty he was. “Are you training with axes today?” 

“Not really.” 

“But you’re holding one?” 

“I was bored.” 

Seteth rose an eyebrow at that one. “You were bored, so you picked up an axe?” He nodded. “You truly are a mystery sometimes.” He shook his head, laughing. “But you hold it like you know how to use it, so it must not be the first time.” 

“My dad tried to teach me.” Byleth said, trying not to think about it. “Did you come to train?” 

“I thought I might. I am not used to such free time.” Even with Rhea gone and a war raging, Seteth still buried himself in paperwork. “I suppose I came here because I was bored too.” 

He watched as Seteth went to the wall of training weapons and selected a lance. Part of him wondered how different it was to fight on a wyvern, but he had never cared to actually try. What did you do without actual footwork? 

“Did you ever learn the lance?” Seteth asked. 

Byleth shrugged. “A little.” 

“Care to spar with me?” 

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“We’ll both use lances, then. I don’t think I could stand a chance if you were to pick up a sword.” Byleth nodded, walking over to join him at the training weapons. He grabbed one at random, and tested it in his hand. 

They squared off in the center of the floor. Byleth tested his grip on the weapon. He had wielding a lance once in a sparring battle with one of his dad’s mercenaries, and it hadn’t gone great. But he was taller now, and knew more about combat. 

Seteth made the first move, thrusting forward. Byleth twisted his wrist, deflecting the dulled blade upward, moving to follow through with a strike of his own. His reach wasn’t enough, Seteth stepping back out of the way so he only hit air. 

The reach was something to get used to. With a sword, especially his sword of the creator, distance was nothing. If they were close, he could use it as a normal sword, if they strayed away from him, he could activate the whip function. Close combat with a lance was tricky. He had to hit the point on his opponent, but it was much shorter than a sword. 

Byleth moved the block and overhead strike, pushing Seteth’s lance out, leaving him off balance for a brief moment. They were close enough for that moment, that Byleth kicked his leg out, connecting with Seteth’s stomach, sending him across the room. 

Charging over, Byleth made a large, sweeping arc to the side, going for Seteth’s empty hand. But Seteth was also a seasoned warrior, and was quick to recover, blocking the blow with relative ease. 

Seteth’s attack held power behind them, but he didn’t have the speed Byleth did. He could duck down and dodge outside his range, but his own attempts to strike back were deflected. 

Thinking this much during battle would never be a good thing, but this was a sparring match. So Byleth let himself analyze how to break through the solid defense and offense of his partner, as well as take into account what he could do with a two-handed weapon. 

He noticed Seteth preferred to keep his grip farther back on the lance, his front hand just behind the middle. Diving in on a whim, Byleth ducked under a chest level thrust, twisting his own lance to hit Seteth’s front hand with the back end. He heard Seteth grunt in pain, releasing the lance with that hand. With this opening, he spun quickly, delivering another kick, directly in the spot he’d hit before.

Seteth hit the ground, and Byleth stood over him, spear point as his neck. Both of them were breathing heavily.

“I… underestimated you.” Seteth’s eyes were on his, something right under the surface, but he couldn’t place it. 

Byleth didn’t respond. He simply took his lance away from his neck, tossing it to the side where Seteth’s had fallen. Reaching down, he helped Seteth back to his feet. 

A strand of hair had fallen to Seteth’s face in the fight, sticking to his forehead with his sweat. Byleth reached up to brush it away, very aware of Seteth watching him. As he went to push it back to the rest of his hair, Seteth suddenly leaned down, pressing their lips together. 

This was different then the kisses they’d shared before. It was hot, maybe just from the match they’d finished. Byleth let Seteth stumble them both up near the wall, just barely stepping over the lances. 

Seteth’s lips were always comforting, but now, they were something else too. He couldn’t quite place it, but he knew his chest was tight, and he felt like they weren’t close enough. He reached his arms up around Seteth, feeling where his sweat had soaked through his shirt, trying to pull him closer. 

With Seteth’s chest pressed against his, he hummed, low in his throat. Physical touch was still something he felt weird with but this felt right. Seteth felt right. 

Seteth twisted his head the slightest bit, pulling Byleth’s lower lip between his. The pressure in his chest was almost suffocating, causing him to open his mouth in a desperate attempt to breathe through it. That allowed Seteth to move in more, taking his lip between his teeth. And he suddenly noticed that Seteth had abnormally sharp teeth.

Before Byleth could do anything about that, he heard a clatter across the room. Seteth jerked away from his face, turning to see what had happened. 

A student stood at the entryway, mouth agape, staring at both of them. Their eyes darted between the two, clearly trying to piece together what they had just seen.

Before either could say anything, the student ran off, leaving their weapon there at on the floor. 

“Woops.” That was all Byleth could think to say. 

Seteth turned back to him, shifting out of his arms. “I let myself get carried away.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean to push you into anything. And this certainly wasn’t the place.” He was talking faster than usual. It was cute. 

“I don’t mind.” 

Seteth moved to pick up their lances, hanging them back up. “I… have something I must check up on, Byleth. Sorry to cut our time short.” 

Byleth nodded. “Okay.”

“We’ll have dinner together?” Seteth wouldn’t quite meet his eye, but still wanted to confirm their plans. 

He nodded again. “Yeah.” 

Seteth gave him an awkward nod, and quickly hurried out the door. Byleth was alone, standing there, wondering what exactly just happened. 

\---

Later, he was standing in line in the dining hall, still thinking about what had happened. While he was lost in thought, a hand came over his shoulder, and a body leaned on him. Glancing to see, Claude had draped himself over Byleth’s shoulder.

“Well, well, well, teach!” Claude seemed smug. ”Who would have thought you’d get a boyfriend?” 

“Boyfriend?” 

“You know,” he winked. “You and the green holy man. Word around the monastery is you two were macking on each other in the training hall.” 

“Macking?” That was a weird word.

“Don’t worry, teach. I won’t tell anyone you’re into getting hot and heavy in public.” He pressed a finger to his lips, making a shushing sound. 

He laughed at the face Byleth made, and clapped him on the shoulder, before he walked off to the table he had been sitting at already. 

Byleth had pretty much forgotten that they were walked in on. It seemed their relationship wouldn’t be so private anymore. Woops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woops lol
> 
> I only bo staff sparring dont come for me 
> 
> As always, thanks for the nice reviews ya'll


	29. Chapter 29

The march to Fort Merceus was long. Byleth knew he should be thinking about the coming battle, but all he wanted to do was talk to Seteth. He had been kind of strange since the training hall and everyone finding out about them.

Flayn had been so excited they had finally announced their relationship. Announced was the wrong word. Byleth himself didn’t care too much about it. He didn’t see how it made a difference, but Seteth seemed to think otherwise. 

Seteth had taken a post watching for ambushes from his wyvern, so he was flying overhead. He was too far up to see very well, but his hair was almost impossible to miss. That beautiful green hair he loved, flowing back in the wind. Byleth sighed to himself. 

“Professor, why such a heavy sigh?” Flayn came up beside him, her face lit up like they weren’t marching to another battle. 

Byleth shrugged, eyes going back to see Seteth’s wyvern had turned to circle back around the party. 

“Oh, I see.” She giggled. “It is about my… brother.” She caught herself before she called him father around everyone else. Byleth knew, but she couldn’t reveal it to everyone. He watched her face fall just a bit at calling him that. 

“I suppose.” 

“I am so glad I do not have to keep you two a secret anymore!” Flayn skipped beside him. “Although I do not understand my peers comments toward the two of you.” 

“Comments?” If it was Claude or Hilda, it couldn’t be good. 

“Oh yes, you are the talk of the monastery, professor!” Maybe that was why Seteth was upset. He had heard some strange whispers in the dining hall. 

But that was for another time. The call went up, alerting the company that they were nearing the fort and it was time to get changed. 

This was an incredibly awful idea, so awful it just might work. Claude had certainly worked on it long enough. All it really had to do was get them through the door. After that it was a fight either way.

\---

The Death Knight had gotten even stronger in the five years since they’d last faced off. But so had he. His sword responded just as his fingers would, clashing as a whole before spreading into a whip to get around a block. 

It was fierce fight both of them taking minor injuries. The Death Knight had got a lucky shot that sliced under a plate of his armor, cutting into his shoulder. But he had landed his own hits, the Death Knight getting visibly tired.

Just as Byleth was ready to add the finishing touches, the Death Knight retreated. 

“Teach! We can’t let him get away!” He heard Claude yell from the sky, but he was already after him. A horse was hard to catch, but a horse was hard to steer in a fort. 

Just as the Death Knight reached a bridge between two buildings of the fort, Byleth came into to range to throw his sword out and catch the horse’s back leg. That brought him a halt, letting Byleth collect his blade as he ran up to deal his final blow. 

But before he could, a high-pitched drone came from the sky. He stopped in his tracks, turning toward it. 

“I would leave if I were you.” The Death Knight breathed behind his mask, mounting his horse again and leaping from the bridge to the grass below. Byleth cursed, watching him take off into the surrounding forest. 

The noise came closer, piercing through his skull. As the object grew bigger, he knew this couldn’t be good. It struck a few structures away, where his army hadn’t reached yet, a huge cloud of debris raising up from the crash site. The explosion was deafening, ringing in his ears so loud he almost didn’t hear the next one coming. 

“We have to go!” He shouted, turning to his students and soldiers. “Retreat. Now!” He didn’t need to stick around to know that thing would decimate everything in seconds. 

For once, Byleth was glad he didn’t feel certain things as strong as others. While many of his soldiers were panicking, forgetting the lay out of the fort, he kept his cool, directing them. Every time one of those things crashed into the earth, it shook and the air became suffocating. 

He managed to get everyone out, turning to see a cluster of them barreling toward the ground. He motioned for the army to keep moving, to get as much distance as they could from the fort. 

Thankfully, they had set a rendezvous point before the battle started, just in case. The team scattered in the chaos, but they would all know to meet there. 

The dust was finally settling, revealing the destruction. There was barely a standing wall left. Nothing but brick and wood, covered in dirt and stone dust. 

It was a planned attack. The Empire didn’t have that capability, but they had to be working with someone who did. But who? 

Claude found him on the hill, landing his wyvern. 

“Well.” 

Byleth told him his thoughts on the attack, and Claude seemed to agree. 

“Either way, teach, we can’t take this as our foothold in the empire any longer. Many of our men are injured. I don’t think it would be a good idea to try and push farther just yet.”

Byleth didn’t want to drag this out any longer, but the stinging in his shoulder told him they did need a brief rest. 

“Fine.” 

The rest of the army slowly filtered into the camp. Rations were passed around as their healers made the rounds too. Byleth had yet to remove his armor, watching the sky, wary that those things would find them again. 

Byleth turned over the idea of those powerful explosives in his head. If the Empire had access to those, why hadn’t they used them on the monastery before? On any of the battlefields they had clashed on? And the Death Knight had warned them. That was almost in character for him. He seemed to enjoy their various death matches that never quite ended in actual death. 

They would be staying here for night. Some of the more shaken soldiers took to menial tasks to try and calm themselves, pitching tents for everyone and gathering firewood. It was a warm night, so they really didn’t need it, but they wanted one anyway. 

He just watched them all from the log he sat on. If it made them settle down, he would let them. 

Flayn finally made her way around to him, looking quite tired from all the healing. “Professor, are you hurt anywhere?”

“Nothing major.” He answered. 

“But you are? Let me see.” 

Byleth reluctantly took off his shoulder plates and pulled his shirt sleeves up enough let Flayn look. There was dried blood all the way down his arm, the wound still leaking. 

“Thank the goddess this wasn’t worse, professor! It could get infected, so let me take care of it.” 

Thank the goddess. What goddess? Did Sothis know those things existed? But then, in his time knowing her, she didn’t know much. He felt a small tugging at his shoulder, the healing magic stitching his skin back together slowly.

He often wondered what exactly had qualified her as a goddess. Sure, people said she created all human life, but was that the only thing? She had the power to rewind time, to pull herself out of an eternally dark realm, and to apparently find refuge in some mercenary kid’s head. 

“I wonder.” 

He hadn’t really meant to say that out loud. 

“Wonder what, professor?”

“About the goddess.” 

Flayn tilting her head to the side in confusion. “I would have thought my brother would teach you everything? Between him and Lady Rhea, and your hair, it seems like you have a connection to her?” 

He almost told her. But he couldn’t figure out how phrase it. Instead he just shook his head. “I guess I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhhhh ya'll we are getting close


	30. Chapter 30

They decided not to retreat too far. Just far enough the Imperial army wouldn’t find them, but close enough they could make their final charge into Enbarr, when the time came. Byleth took the most watch shifts. It reminded him of his time as a mercenary, needing less sleep than his comrades. Or maybe tired was a feeling too and he just hadn’t had the capability to feel it as much as them. Who really knew at this point? 

It was on their last night at the camp that Seteth came over to join him on watch. The moon was dim, reaching the end of its cycle, and the stars were sparse. The fire had burned down to embers, leaving them with little light. 

“Byleth.” 

“Seteth.” 

“You seem troubled.”

“Do I?” 

Seteth sighed. “I thought we had got past this habit of yours?” 

Byleth turned to look at him. “Sorry.”

“I know you must have a lot on your mind right now.” Byleth nodded to that. “It’s probably not the time to talk about it, but you know I am here for you.” A hand came to his shoulder. 

The two of them stood in silence for a while. There was hardly any sound that night, the wind barely rustling the leaves, and only the occasional bug crying in the distance. A storm must be moving in. 

“Why did you seem so distant?” For once, Byleth was the one to break the silence between them.

“Was I?” Now who was picking up the bad habit? He sighed at the raise of Byleth’s eyebrow. “I didn’t mean to. It was just, I am a private man. I was a little shocked, is all.” Byleth could tell that wasn’t the whole story. “And now, all I can think about is how close we are to saving Rhea.” 

Rhea. The woman who know everything about him. He knew he needed to know, but part of him wanted to forget anything had ever happened. He wanted to go back to being a normal mercenary. 

But really, he had never been one. A man who kills without emotion is not normal. A man who feels nothing surrounded by others is not normal. And even as a regular teacher, he hadn’t been normal, hearing the voice of the goddess, wielding a sword tied to a lost bloodline. 

He should tell Seteth. He already knew how he struggled with emotions. What more would this be? Hearing the goddess voice? Frequenting her throne room?

But how?

He pulled a strand on his hair down, watching the way the faint light still made it glow. It was such a strange color. Part of him had wanted to cut it, but he had never around to it. And it’s not like cutting it would have changed it back. 

“Your hair is such a lovely color.” Seteth whispered, almost too low to hear. The ghost of his hand ran over his head. 

“Seteth. I’m on watch.” He couldn’t afford to get distracted now. His ears were sharp enough to listen to many things at once, but if he got caught up with Seteth, he wouldn’t be able to focus. 

“Right. I’m sorry.” 

“How do you think Rhea would take this?” Byleth didn’t really care, but Seteth would. And with the way his students were, they would not keep it quiet when they found her. 

“Honestly, I am not sure. She is… my oldest and dearest friend. I would like to think she would be happy for me, but you believe she knows things about you, and the way she acted before the monastery was attacked… leaves me with doubts.” Seteth stumbled through his thoughts aloud. “I don’t think she would be against it, but she can be unpredictable at times.” 

She certainly had a temper on her. But she was a woman with answers, who was a key player in the world. They needed her if they wanted to push the world forward. And Claude had this idea in his head….

“Did Flayn ever tell you what happened to change my hair and eyes?” 

“Parts of it. But she kind of danced around it.” 

“I rushed in to get revenge on that woman…. I got sucked into this dark void.” It was still hard to think about it. Just thinking about that endless black brought something out of him. 

“A dark void?” 

“There was nothing there. I could see but all it was was black.” 

“And that’s when the goddess came to you?” 

“You could say that.”

“What do you mean?” 

“She came to me months before that. Before I even came to the monastery.”

“She gave you her power before—”

“No. Well yes, but no. We shared an ability to kind of turn back time.” 

“You shared it?” 

Thinking back to their early days together, both of them so confused about the other and their existence in the world. Byleth truly waking up to how he could feel. Rhea acting suspicious, his father wary….

“She was my friend.” There. That was it. They were friends. Close friends who shared literally everything. 

Byleth closed his eyes for a brief moment. “She had to give me her power so we could escape that place. And she fell silent.” 

“You… really spoke with her….” It wasn’t a question. He wasn’t good at reading emotions anyway, but this one on Seteth’s face was new. “Oh, Rhea. What did you do…?” That wasn’t meant to be aloud. 

“She helped me get through my dad…. She made fun of me all the time about you.”

“About me?” 

“Because I always thought about you.” He could still hear her teasing him endlessly. Especially after his dad put the idea of Byleth liking him in her head. 

Even under this weird confession, that made Seteth smile. 

A stick cracked behind him, and Byleth shot around, hand on his sword in an instant. 

“Uh, sorry sir. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you! But it’s my turn for watch.” It was just one of the newer soldiers. Byleth relaxed, nodding to the man. 

“Seteth?” He nodded toward his tent. 

“Yes.” Seteth followed him, ducking into the canvas tarp. 

Byleth set his sword by his pillow, moving to lay down himself. He offered the spot next to him to Seteth. 

Of course, Seteth rarely said no. Seteth joined him on the blanket he’d thrown on the ground. The moment had passed to continue their conversation from earlier, but Byleth didn’t want to give up what little time they had before this final battle.

“Seteth, tomorrow, when we march into Enbarr….”

“Yes?” 

“Just, keep yourself safe? Please?” 

Seteth turned to his side, touching his face with a gentle smile on his lips. “As long as you promise the same.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to draw a seteth pic but i get so caught up looking at "references" of what he looks like pls help yall


	31. Chapter 31

The battle at Enbarr was brutal, but they made it through, busting into the palace. Byleth was almost sad to take out Hubert, but he wasn’t the type to just lay his weapon down. He could respect that.

Of course, Edelgard had her strongest soldiers guarding her throne room. There were some strange mages lurking in the background, too, but Byleth didn’t have time to think about them. 

In the end, Edelgard fell. She knelled on the floor below her throne, head hanging, exhausted. It hadn’t been an easy fight. Going through the Death Knight, and then Hubert, and on to Edelgard without a break was a lot. But Byleth was the one still standing.

Edelgard looked up at him. “I had hoped we could walk side by side, my teacher.” 

“Maybe we could have, in another life.” 

They both knew her time was at an end. Sharing a look, Byleth raised his sword for the last time. 

He didn’t stay in the throne room very long. It was stuffy and coated in blood. But it was over. This war was over. 

In a kind of haze, he drifted outside. The sun was blinding, but the heat warmed his skin. He didn’t even realize how cold he was. Killing a target never felt like this. 

His soldiers bustled about, taking supplies to the wounded, or giving something to the townspeople who hadn’t been able to leave. Looking out on the Imperial capital was almost sad. The Empire was no more. A power in the world since almost the beginning of time recorded. 

He sat alone on the steps leading up the palace, watching everyone run around in the city below. Everything felt the same. But it wasn’t. The past few months he had been leading an army through a gruesome war. A war he had slept five years through. Everyone else had gone through more of this than he had, but he was the one who they looked to fight under. 

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear Claude come up behind him.

“Hey, Teach. A messenger came by.” That wasn’t a happy tone. 

He stood to face him. “What was the message?” 

“It’s from Hubert.” 

What? Hubert scheduled a message to be delivered to them? He had some foresight. 

The two of them looked it over, taking in the information. Hubert told them about a secret society of people, out to kill the children of the goddess and those above land. 

Children of the goddess. Something about that term rang in his head. 

“Those who slither in the dark.” Claude muttered to himself. “You think those are the creepy mages we’ve seen lately?” 

Byleth nodded. “Those javelins of light.” 

“That’s true. It’s clear the Empire didn’t have that ability. But Edelgard would have made allies with anyone who’d help her succeed….” Claude thought aloud. “But this letter also gives us the location of Rhea.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “She’s a woman with answers, my friend.” 

\---

Rhea was slumped up against the wall of her hidden cell. Her hair was tangled and messy, her face and clothes stained with dirt and grime. Her eyes slowly opened as she heard them enter.

“Rhea!” Seteth rushed over to prop her up. 

“Seteth.” Rhea’s voice was hoarse, tired. 

Her eyes scanned the room, finally landing on him. “You came….” There was something in her eyes he didn’t like. Some kind of… almost reverence. She tried to stand, only to collapse at his feet. 

He knelled down, pulling her back up on her knees. She grasped at his shoulders, burying her face in his chest. He froze, shocked. Rhea had never even touched someone else, while he was around at least. But she was… trying to hold him. 

He glanced over to Seteth, who watched in a similar state. Claude cleared his throat at the back of the room. 

“Guys, we ought to get her out of here. She doesn’t look too good, no offense, archbishop.” 

Rhea pulled away, shaking her head slowly. “None taken, young Claude. I thank you for coming to my rescue.” She rose shakily, Seteth quickly putting his arm around her waist to steady her. Byleth watched him half carry her out of the room. With both Seteth and Claude out, he looked around. 

It wasn’t much. Just a stone room. No shackles, no torturing devices. No anything. To be trapped in such a room for five years…. 

He backed out of the room, going to follow the others outside again.

\---

They had Rhea out on the steps of the palace, propped up on a low wall, while Flayn and another healer looked her over. Here in the sun, she looked even worse. 

Flayn spoke up, her voice shaking. “She needs rest.” She looked up to Seteth. “I think she’ll be okay if she can just rest back at the monastery for a few days.” 

“It’s a five days march back.” Claude said. “There’s no way she’d make that. But we can’t just stay here.”

Byleth frowned looking at her. This was the woman who had put his father through so much grief. Who had kept so much from him. She had made him part of some scheme she hadn’t even told her closest companion about. 

But looking at Seteth’s face, twisted with grief and worry, he couldn’t be mad at her right now. 

“Seteth.”

That drew his attention, and everyone’s. “Yes?” 

“How long would it take you to fly back to the monastery on your wyvern?” 

“A day and a half, given the weather, if he can rest a few more hours.” 

“Can you support her and fly?” Seteth nodded. “And Flayn. You’ve been learning to ride Pegasi, right?”

“You want us to head back first, professor?” Flayn knew where he was going with this. 

“Yes.”

“But…” Seteth began protesting. “What about you? And the rest of the army?”

Claude picked up on what Byleth wanted. “I get it, teach. They head back first, give Rhea the time to rest up and recover a bit, while you and I clean up here in the city and bring everyone back.” Byleth nodded to him. Claude was a smart guy. “It’s a good plan, Seteth. And one of the only ones I can think of where Rhea is as safe as she could possibly be.” 

Seteth shook his head. “I… Yes, you are right.” He met Byleth’s eyes. “I feel like I would be abandoning you, however.”

“The fight here is over.” Byleth said simply. 

Claude nodded. “Let’s get her to the healing tents for now while you let your wyvern rest up. We should have a few pegasi who didn’t see battle. Hilda will know.” 

\---

With Rhea comfortable in the tent, Flayn decided to stay with her, letting her father go with Claude and Byleth to check on a few other things. Claude quickly broke off from them, winking at Byleth, before saying he needed to check in with some others. 

Byleth frowned at the back of his head as he walked away. What else was there to do? But then, he had never won a war before. Maybe that was something they taught you if you were a noble.

Seteth and Byleth walked toward the makeshift stable. Most soldiers still had their horses out, carrying supplies around to make a camp for the night, despite being in the middle of the city. Seteth’s eyes stayed the ground under them, his shoulders tense. 

“Seteth.” Byleth couldn’t take it anymore. “We got her back. You can start to relax.” 

He sighed, somehow getting even more tense. “But she’s in such bad shape….” 

“She’s alive. If she’s alive, she can recover.” 

Seteth stared at him weird. “That’s… not how it works, Byleth.” 

“It’s not? So the dead recover? If that’s the case, let me get my dad.” He hated saying the second it came out of his mouth, but it was too late. 

“Byleth…”

“Sorry. I just… I have my own issues with Rhea. You know that.” He shook his head, choosing to instead watch a bird fly across the sky. “But she’s important to you.” 

“I know.” Seteth glanced around before placing his hand on Byleth’s face. “I appreciate your thought. And I promise, once she is well enough, I will help you get your answers.”

“Thanks.” Byleth leaned into his hand. 

Seteth seemed to think for a moment before sighing. “I have to tell you…. The other day, when you asked why I had been so distant. I didn’t tell you the whole truth.”

He rose an eyebrow at that. He had felt that the other day, but it wasn’t the time. But was now the time? With everything else they had to worry about? 

“The truth is… I got scared. The feelings I have toward you are so intense, I got scared and needed to be alone for a few days, to think and reflect.”

“Oh.” That wasn’t what he expected. 

Byleth felt silent, staring at his feet. He hadn’t really ever thought if his feelings were intense. Everything was kind of intense when you grew up not feeling anything. 

“It’s okay, Byleth. I know these things are confusing for you.” His thumb ran along his cheek. “Just being like this with you is enough.” 

Byleth wanted to kiss him, so he did. It was soft and slow, soothing something in his chest he didn’t know was aching until now. After all the fighting and worry, things were on the road to getting better. 

They still had enemies out there, threatening their peace, but for now, it was quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RHEA'S BACK YA'LL


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a warning, spoilers for the last few chapters of Golden Deer and the Church route.

Claude was, as always, a master at wrapping things up politically. Although, Byleth didn’t care for the way he said things like “you’ll be leading us all into a new age, Teach!” That made it sound like Claude had plans for him. Plans he didn’t particularly care for.

But he couldn’t put that in place for a while. With the capital stabilized enough for the citizens to go on with their lives, the army marching under the Crest of Flames left. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, threatening to pour rain on them the closer they got to the monastery. 

They were about a day out, setting up camp for the night. Byleth would have just continued on at that point, but the soldiers were slowing down. And they couldn’t afford exhaustion at this point. So Byleth, as usual, took up a watch shift. 

There was no Seteth to join him tonight, so he just watched the wind blow through the trees and bushes. The animals were quiet tonight, probably hiding from the storm, leaving him with the wind and the clouds.

The closer they got to the monastery, the more Byleth realized he was furious. 

It wasn’t a burning kind of hatred like he’d experienced after his dad was murdered, but one that had festered over years. He decided to count the years he spent supposedly sleeping. It wasn’t the type to just fizzle out with the end of a life. Although, he was still mad at this group for killing his father, but he had other things to worry about before. 

And now it was all flooding to him. Like the fury had just awoke the moment he saw Rhea again. Before the war, he had just been confused and curious. He guessed it was true: war does change a man. 

Staring up at the dark clouds rolling over the sky, Byleth sighed. There was no use getting angry out here in a field. He would save it, until Rhea was healthy enough to take it. 

Instead, he let his mind drift to other things.

Seteth. The talk the two of them had had before he left with Rhea had left him wanting more. But maybe that was just the kissing afterward. 

But Seteth had said his feelings scared him. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? They hadn’t really talked about it after. But the way he spoke and looked at him made it seem like it was good. 

He thought back to the evening in the training hall. Seteth pushing him against the wall, how strong he looked with that lance in his hands….

He was almost too caught up in such thoughts that he missed a stick cracking a few yards out. He quickly jumped to feet to investigate, but it turned out to just be an animal making its way to its nest. Figures. 

Going back to his post, he wanted to dwell some more on those feelings. But this wasn’t the time or place. Just like his anger, he’d have to wait until they were back at the monastery.

And that left him with his place in this world if there wasn’t a war. 

He knew he couldn’t go back to being a teacher at the Officers Academy. To have a class after his Golden Deer would be unthinkable. He cared for those students so much, he couldn’t bear to try and give that to another group of kids.

And he didn’t care to serve under Rhea, so there was that. 

But Rhea had said he was to lead the church instead of her. He knew nothing of the religion, and still didn’t even really believe Sothis was a goddess. And she had lived side by side with him in his head. He carried her abilities and power. So that was out.

He could always go back into mercenary work, but he didn’t want to stray too far from wherever Seteth would be after this was over. And Seteth probably wouldn’t want to be too far from Rhea. Although, the picture of Seteth as a terrible mercenary was funny. Almost as funny as Flayn trying to be one. 

Claude would probably take over the newly united Fodlan, so he guessed he’d stay near him, advising him. He had good relations with Almyra already, so he already had the ability to forge international relationships. Not that he had any experience with that, either. 

His mind ran in circles for so long, the next shift appeared before he found a solution, sending him back to his tent to spend the night alone. 

\---

The sun was just beginning to set when the monastery gates came into view. 

Many of the soldiers cheered and rushed forward all at once. Claude, who he had been walking beside, elbowed him in the side and winked.

“I bet Seteth’ll be excited to you see, Teach.” 

Byleth just stared at him.

“Aw, c’mon, don’t be like that.” He laughed at the eyebrow Byleth raised in question. “Well, I got a date with my bed before we get into this Those Who Slither in the Dark situation.” He waved to Byleth before heading back to the student dorms. 

Sure enough, Seteth was standing in the middle of all the soldiers milling about in the entrance hall. 

“Seteth.” Byleth greeted, unable to keep the smile off his face. It had only been a few days, but they had been long and stressful.

Seteth glanced around for a moment before taking Byleth’s hand in his, smiling softly. “I know it has been just a few days, but it felt like much longer.” 

Byleth felt his shoulders shaking with laughter. At Seteth’s confused face, he pulled it together enough to say, “I was thinking the same thing.” He wanted to kiss him, but with how awkward he was being, he figured it wasn’t a thing to do in front of others. 

\---

Seteth told him Rhea was still resting. Her health was improving fairly well with food and sleep, but she was still weak physically. She had still been requesting to see him, however. 

So there he stood, outside Rhea’s room. He had never gone to the third floor before. He kind of hated it. The balcony was nice, but the rest of it felt like too much. 

He glanced back to Seteth, who just nodded in encouragement. He knocked.

“Come in.” Her voice was still weak, but didn’t sound as rough as it had.

Byleth schooled his face into its neutral, unreadable state and pushed the door open.

“Professor!” Rhea’s face lit up at the sight of him. It took everything he had not to frown at her. “You have come to visit me!”

“I heard you wanted to see me.”

“Please, have a seat.” She motioned to the chair in the corner. 

Byleth shook his head. 

She sighed. “I suppose you are not happy to see me.” Byleth didn’t answer. “It is understandable. I had felt you were distant ever since your father’s death. He must have left the truth to you, as much as he knew.”

The muscles in his arms were tense, trying not to shake with anger. He wanted to scream out, to throw something, just looking at her. She couldn’t even say his name. 

“I know I owe you an explanation, dear professor.” How long was she going to draw this out?

He felt Seteth’s hand on his shoulder, light, almost like a ghost touching him. In the corner of his eye, he saw Seteth had worry etched on his face. Part of him wanted to comfort him, but this wasn’t the time.

“I will tell you the truth, of who I am. Who we are.” Rhea closed her eyes. “I am the one who is known as the Immaculate One.” 

“I knew that.” Byleth had to strain himself to keep from shouting. 

“You did?”

“I fought beside you.” Was she so dense as to think he would just fight by some random dragon? “I was thrown into a chasm.” 

Now she wouldn’t meet her eyes. He could feel his jaw flexing and his teeth grinding together, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Right.” She took a breath. “We… are children of the Goddess.”

We. He looked to Seteth. Seteth just nodded at him. 

“Sothis was my dear mother.”

He couldn’t stop the shaking now. Hearing Sothis’ name, all this explanation, taking her sweet time to get into how he fit in to all this. He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Byleth!” Seteth grabbed his shoulder, trying to steady him. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” He shrugged of Seteth’s hands, shaking his head. “What’s wrong is that none of this matters! Just get to the point, Rhea.” He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t reach out to break something. He just shook with anger.

Rhea looked shocked. “That… is the most you have ever said, professor….”

He let the anger seep into his face. “Just tell me my part in this.”

It took her a few minutes to compose herself. “Of course.” She sighed. “You… were meant to be a vessel.”

A vessel.

“You were meant to be a new body for the Goddess to house herself in. When you returned from the forest, having changed as you did, I had such hope. But then, the throne, meant to bring the two of you into one, did nothing.” 

“So, I was just a tool.” 

“No.” She insisted. “You were—”

“Don’t. I don’t want excuses.”

Rhea tried to swing her legs over the edge of her bed, going to stand, but she was still weak. She stumbled. “Professor….”

“Why me?”

“You… You’re mother…. She was my—” A coughing fit overtook Rhea. She covered her mouth, falling back against her bed. Seteth rushed over to her.

“Rhea! Please!” He fumbled at her side table for the glass of water. “Calm yourself.”

The coughing fit didn’t subside for several minutes. 

Seteth looked away from Rhea for a moment. “Byleth, I’m sorry. But Rhea….”

He shook his head. “I need to go for a walk.” 

He left the room, leaving the door open behind him. The moment his feet hit the stone pathways outside, he sprinted out towards the town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to keep a character like Byleth in character when writing them angry. I'm a very explosive guy when it comes to anger myself and to not just throw something or start shouting is super weird to write lol.
> 
> But woops we dont get the full explanation just yet~ 
> 
> lol, hope ya'll enjoy~


	33. Chapter 33

The rain finally came. 

Byleth watched as the rain mixed with the blood on his arm. He hadn’t been paying attention and scraped his arm against a branch in the woods. But that was okay. 

Out here in the rain, he could almost think clearly again. He understood Seteth had to stay with Rhea right now, but it still kind of hurt. And Rhea had been so close to finally telling him something important. 

To think, Sothis was Rhea’s mother. And from the way Seteth had nodded at her use of ‘we’, she was his too. That’s why he’d seemed so intent on figuring out his connection to her. And finding Rhea. 

Somehow that wasn’t shocking. 

Did that mean Seteth could turn into a dragon to? Or was that a specifically Rhea thing? He’d have to ask him. He didn’t think Sothis could. Otherwise he probably would have been able to, right? 

As quick as the thought came, he tossed it away. If Rhea could do it, he didn’t want to. 

Claude had always held the church at arm’s length, and Byleth kind of did too, but he never cared to examine their actions. He only had the association because of his father. And now, because of whatever Rhea had had planned for him. 

He had no interest in this goddess business. The most he ever cared about was getting his friend back. But it was clear now he wouldn’t. He missed her, but there was no turning that back. All this power, and he could still do nothing for her. 

He raised his hand to his still heart. With all the anger in his chest, he was almost shocked to feel nothing beating under his skin. He was reminded, once again, how strange his existence was. 

His clothes were thoroughly soaked through at this point, but it didn’t matter. He found an old felled tree and sat down, staring up at the gray sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance. He closed his eyes, just focusing on the raindrops falling on his arms. Rhea would rest some and then he could push for answers again. Just because he got too mad to be in the same room as her didn’t mean he was out of luck. 

After a while, he finally stood up and walked back to the monastery. 

\---

He opened the door to his room, hoping he had some clean clothes to change into. He hadn’t done laundry in weeks now. Between the march and prepping for the march, there hadn’t been time.

Before he could close his door, he heard his name down the walkway. 

Turning around, he found Seteth quickly walking over to him. Had he been waiting for him to return? 

“Seteth.” 

“Byleth, are you okay?” Byleth frowned.

“I’m fine.” 

“You left in a hurry. I didn’t—”

“I’m angry, but I’m fine.” 

Seteth opened his mouth to protest, before his eyes caught sight of his clothes. “You’re soaking wet, Byleth. You’re going to get sick.”

“I won’t.” 

He huffed at him, pulling him into his room. He took it upon himself to shuffle through Byleth’s drawers. 

“Why did you come down here, Seteth? Shouldn’t you be watching over Rhea?” 

“I wanted to apologize for cutting her answer short.”

“I get it. I don’t hold it against you.” 

“You don’t?”

“She wouldn’t have been able to anyway.” Byleth closed his eyes, sitting on his bed. “Is she back to resting?” 

“Yes. She requested that she see you in the morning, however. Some of the nuns are watching over her now.” 

Seteth seemed to have forgotten all about his clothes at this point. He had too, so he decided to just pull his wet boots and shirt off. He’d taken his armor off earlier, after getting back, and it lay in the corner of his room. 

He heard Seteth cough over in the corner, before turning back to his drawer, pulling out an old shirt he used for training. He caught it when he tossed it over, pulling it on. 

Seteth’s face was getting red, and he almost asked why before he had a pair of shorts in his hands too. 

With his wet clothes off, he leaned up against the wall. He motioned for Seteth to sit with him. He did, although stiffly on the corner of his bed. Byleth stared at the back of his head, until, he guessed, Seteth changed his mind and joined him against the wall. 

“I didn’t ask how the march back was.” 

Byleth shrugged. “It was fine. Long, with the injured and low supplies.” He sighed, leaned up on Seteth’s shoulder. “Now, we search for this Shambala place….” 

“I had hoped this war would have been over with the capital.” 

They all had. Morale was low with the news they had another big battle to get through. But Byleth was confident they could boost everyone back up before it came time to fight. It wouldn’t be easy, but they had all made it clear they’d follow him anywhere. 

“So, you and Rhea can turn into dragons.” 

“Only Rhea can.” 

“Why?” 

“I gave up my dragon form. After the old war, and my wife, I left it behind. It can often lead to a madness that I didn’t want.” His eyes closed. “Not with Flayn….” 

Byleth was curious, but the look on Seteth’s face wasn’t worth it. 

He couldn’t think of anything to change the subject to, so he moved to kind of lay on Seteth’s shoulder, the weight of the day suddenly coming down on him. He felt Seteth’s hand come up to his head, combing through his hair. 

“What are you going to do after the war, Byleth?” His voice was soft.

Byleth shrugged. “I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know.” 

“I haven’t decided either.” 

“You won’t stay here?”

“Flayn has expressed her want to explore the world. I would hate to keep her trapped here forever. But I also worry greatly about her.” Seteth sighed. “But these new enemies are the ones who have been hunting her, I am sure. Once they are dealt with….” 

“She’ll be fine.” 

He fell silent, clearly thinking about the situation. Byleth didn’t understand his need to be overprotective, but he wasn’t a father. His dad had always let him do whatever he wanted. Which, to be fair, wasn’t a whole lot. 

He could feel himself falling asleep, the soft breathing of Seteth and his hand in his hair lulling him under. Part of him didn’t want to, but it had been a long march, and he hadn’t got a decent night sleep since Rhea had been found. 

Tomorrow, he would see her again, and finally get her answer as to what he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that whole "has a pulse but no heartbeat thing" was misinterpreted as his circulation was fine but he had no heartbeat lol. Cuz like, they're the same thing. You have a pulse because your heart beats. Anyway lol


	34. Chapter 34

Rhea had requested they speak on the balcony this morning. The rain had stopped, but the clouds still lingered, threatening more. 

Byleth stood at the entryway, Claude having insisted on following him. For support, he’d said. He didn’t really care, either way, but having someone outside this mess was nice. 

Rhea was standing on her own now. Her skin had more color, but her eyes were still tired and she hadn’t worn her traditional robes. Hopefully, she wouldn’t pass out or devolve into another fit like yesterday. 

“Professor, I must apologize for yesterday.”

“Don’t.” 

She stopped, looking shocked. 

“I don’t want an apology. Just tell me about my mother.” 

So far, he was keeping his cool. As long as Rhea didn’t start to go into Sothis talk, he could get through this. But she would. And he would get mad.

“I created her.” Rhea started. “Over many years, I had been trying, desperately, to find a way to make a body my mother could reside in. She was the last of them.” 

“And?”

“She still could not house her. My mother’s Crest Stone in her chest allowed her to live, but she was not what I had hoped…. Nonetheless, I had the intentioned of continuing, after she passed on.” 

Rhea looked away from him. “When your father first came here, he was no more than a child. But he was a fierce warrior. We met on a mission; he almost gave his life to protect me. And, so indebted as I was, I gave him some of my blood to heal him and offered him a spot in the Knights of Seiros.”

Alois did always mentioned how strangely his father didn’t age. That was probably her doing. That wasn’t the issue, though. 

“The two of them. They ended up falling in love. And when she came to me, announcing her pregnancy, I tried to be happy for her. I had created her, and now she was living a normal life, despite what I wanted. She was not my mother, but she would be this unborn baby’s mother.

“Her pregnancy went well, up until her last few weeks. Jeralt was gone on a mission, and her health took a turn. When she entered labor, it was quite obvious she would not survive. I thought, at first, I would have to start over. But then you came.

“A stillborn child. You had no heartbeat. You didn’t breathe or cry. Some of the nuns rushed to try and save you. Your mother gripped my hand, begging me to save you. She knew of her purpose in this world, and her failure, on my part, to reach it. But she loved you. She asked me to take the stone from her chest, and give it to you.

“And I knew that you could be a vessel for my mother. You already had my blood, a gift from your father. And with the stone in your chest, you would have everything needed. And so, I transferred my mother’s Crest Stone to you. And you began breathing.”

Byleth took a moment to process through all of that. His mom was an experiment. He had a stone inside his chest. His hand found where his heartbeat should have been. Nothing, as usual. Nothing but his lungs moving. 

“And my dad? How did he take that?”

“Jeralt was quite distressed when he returned, hours after your mother’s breathing stopped. When he saw you, he began to cry. His touch on your face was gentle, as gentle as I had ever seen him. But he became upset again, when you did not cry. 

“I’m sure you know your father is not a loud man. But his tone of voice…. If I were not… who I am, I would have been terrified. He demanded to know what I had done to his wife and child. He did not believe me when I told him she wanted this.

“He was at my door, every day, demanding answers. He would always be holding you. Sometimes you were asleep. Others, you were awake. Never crying, never squirming. Just staring. Part of me wondered what I had done. You showed no signs of my mother’s power.”

“I was a baby.” Byleth heard himself saying. 

“Yes. And an infant could not yet house a goddess. So, I had planned to take a personal interest in your training as you grew. But… a fire broke out. Jeralt told me you had died….”

He knew this part. His father had wrote about it. He faked his death and then his own to take him away. To protect him. 

“I realize now, I should have given him some reason to stay. But he felt I was a threat to you, his child….” 

“Maybe you were.” Byleth’s head was spinning. He could barely look at her, or anyone else. 

“I would never have harmed you, professor….”

“A threat isn’t always physical.” 

She sighed. “Of course.”

She took a moment to collect herself. Byleth let her. He needed one himself. 

“I was devasted over your loss. It felt like my mother had been taken from me, all over again. But then… you returned. A mercenary, cold and blank, just like you had left. But you could wield the Sword of the Creator, and I knew you had some connection to her.

“When you came back from the forest, your hair and eyes changed, I knew that the next step to truly merge with her was to sit on her throne. But nothing happened.” 

“She was already gone at that point.” Byleth felt his hands clench up. 

“What?” 

“She’d already told me we wouldn’t be able to speak if she gave me her power.” He couldn’t believe he was telling her this. He had only just told Seteth. And Seteth was….

“So… she did speak to you?” Rhea’s eyes were filled with hope. “Oh, professor, she must have imparted such wisdom on you.”

“She didn’t.” Byleth stopped her from going on. “She didn’t know who she was. She didn’t know what we were.” Why they had been connected.

He could almost understand how Rhea felt. Losing Sothis had been hard, especially so soon after his dad. She had been with him through that, forcing him to get up every day, talking to him when he could barely eat. And then she was gone too. Leaving him with no one. 

But that didn’t excuse her actions. 

“You took a dead child and forced something on them.” He was talking about himself. He bit his tongue, still working through all the information. 

“I saved you, professor.”

“Did you? Or did you doom me a life of being a hollow shell.” 

Rhea glanced over at Seteth, who wouldn’t meet her gaze. His face said this was his first time hearing this as well. 

“Your father would not have said—”

“His journal speaks of nothing outside my ‘odd behavior’. How I didn’t act as a child would.” Byleth felt his anger coming back up. “My first mission, I killed a man. I felt nothing. I took a life, in my early teenage years, and felt nothing.” 

“That was Sothis, sleeping, waiting for—”

“No! It wasn’t. I felt nothing. Ever.” A single raindrop fell on his face. “I was not meant to exist. I should have died with my mother.” 

Seteth finally spoke up. “Byleth… please don’t—”

He looked over to him, stopping his sentence. 

“I’m not Sothis. I never will be. You decided to play god.” His throat hurt. “She might have been a goddess, but you aren’t.” 

He couldn’t be here anymore. He wanted to lie down and process this. By himself. 

“Professor, you are meant to—”

“I’m not meant for anything. You put this on me. I never asked for this.” He could feel himself breaking down. Another raindrop fell, this time at his feet. The air was cold, stiff. 

Turning, he quickly walked to the stairs, almost running down them, as Seteth and Claude tried to stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes when i sit down to write this i'm like
> 
> Stardew Valley Setleth au
> 
> and then i end up playing stardew lol


	35. Chapter 35

Standing at his father’s, and mother’s, grave, Byleth let the rain fall over him. The last time he’d stood here under the rain had been shortly after his dad died. Had anything really changed? 

Both he and his mother weren’t meant to exist. His mother was a simple experiment, done in the archbishop’s age-old grief, and he was simply an extension of that. He was supposed to be the goddess, given life again, but here he was instead. He wasn’t anything. A soldier. A mercenary. 

More than anything at this moment, he just wanted to talk to his mother. To know her for just a while. Her name, her hobbies, her life. To know she wasn’t just some hollow body for Sothis. 

His dad had said she loved flowers. So she had some interests, but he had always been so quiet about her. Not that he had asked before coming here. He had never cared. Like everything else before coming here. 

And Sothis…. How would she have felt, knowing this? Even with her power, he wasn’t her, and he couldn’t feel how she felt. She probably would have been just as upset and confused as he was. She had always scolded him for not using his physical body properly. As she had wanted. 

He laid himself out over the grave, not caring about the mud seeping into his clothes. He stared up at the rain, drops threatening to fall into his eyes. He felt the burning in his eyes come back. He wanted to cry. 

At least he finally had an answer to the stillness in his chest, the second entity in his brain. It didn’t make it easier to swallow, though. 

He tried to imagine what he would do if he could have had a chance to revive his father. To do this to some random stillborn baby. But he couldn’t. That kid would be a tragic loss, but he couldn’t just shove some other heart in its chest and raise it to be his father. 

And Sothis wasn’t even the same as she had been, according to stories. She hadn’t even known her own name when she popped up. You can’t revive the dead. 

All he had now, all these feelings, were only because of some stone lodged in his chest. If he hadn’t had it, he would be like his mother. Buried in the ground. His dad probably would have wept over them. As it should have been. 

Instead, he was here, and his father was dead. All because of his connection to Rhea. The one Rhea forced on him as a dead child. Those… people… wouldn’t have attacked the students in the monastery if he wasn’t here, and his father wouldn’t have been killed. 

Somehow that was the worst of part of it. Knowing that since he survived birth, his dad was doomed to die. If he hadn’t, he’d have lived as long as he was meant to. Maybe he would have found another woman to love, maybe not. Maybe he would have another child, a healthy, normal child, that would respond to his fatherly advice better. Or at all. 

He had had to lead this whole war. Everyone told him he had some kind of pull toward him, and now he knew why. And he hated it. This wasn’t some natural born talent. Or if it was, he would never know. 

What if he had just stayed at the bottom of that chasm? He had just never woken up? How would the war have turned out? How would his students have turned out? 

They probably would have been fine. They were all strong people. Claude had a knack for keeping people together anyway. 

Seteth had been barely keeping the church together before he showed back up. Maybe it would have dissolved, like Edelgard wanted, and they would go back to hiding. Flayn would never get to explore like she wanted. But, Edelgard had known about those in the darkness. She probably would have gone after them too. 

He heard wet footsteps on the concrete over the graveyard, but didn’t look to see who it was. It was probably Seteth. It was always Seteth. Typically, he would love to see his face, but he didn’t know how to respond to the questions he would ask about this.

Instead, Flayn’s sad face appeared over him, holding an umbrella over both of them.

“Flayn.” 

“Hello, professor. Why are you out in the rain and mud?” 

“Thinking….” He wasn’t quite as comfortable talking to Flayn as he was to Seteth, but she was a sweet girl.

“My father told me about what Rhea said. He asked me not to come find you, but I had a feeling.” 

“About what?” 

“I am not sure. The things my father told me upset me greatly, so I can only imagine how you must feel, professor.” 

“You can use my name, Flayn.” He sat up, his back to her. 

“Oh no, I would feel strange calling you that. I quite like calling you professor.” She put the umbrella back over his head. “May we please get out of the rain?” 

Byleth pushed himself to his feet, nodded. He followed her to an awning staring out at the graveyard. The two were quiet for a while, but he could almost feel Flayn looking for a conversation. 

“I always knew you were like us, professor.” She finally said, looking up at him. “But I had thought you came about in a different manner. Perhaps your mother had been one of us, and you were only half-blooded, and that was why you were not born with the green hair.” 

Instead his mother had just been created. 

“I could not have imagined Rhea would be responsible.” 

Byleth didn’t respond. He just stared out at the rain. 

“Do you think Captain Jeralt knew?” 

“He didn’t.” Byleth muttered. “His journal is filled with his worries about how strange I was as a child.” 

“He was often worried about you, was he not?” 

Byleth shrugged. “I never gave him reason to, really.” Maybe he had. But what could he do? He had been a child who was barely human. 

“I am not sure you wish to hear this, professor, but I am quite… grateful… you were given a chance to live.”

He turned to look at her. She was sincere, her brows furrowed in the way they often did when she was earnestly trying to learn a difficult skill. 

“You helped us to end this senseless war, even if it is not truly over. You helped me so much with my studies. And my father….” She gave him a sad smile. “He has not been so happy since my mother died.” 

Byleth turned away. Seteth had tried to comfort him earlier, but he had run off. He felt bad about it now. 

“Thank you, Flayn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just let me be flayn's step dad intsys


	36. Chapter 36

While Byleth was dealing with Rhea’s confession, the scouts returned, giving them the location they needed to march to. All that was left was restocking their resources enough to prepare for another long march and battle. 

He took it upon himself to see to the stock personally. It gave himself something else to think about. Any time his hands stopped moving, he drifted back to his weird existence and how messed up it was. 

Flayn and Seteth had both tried to pull him away from the work, but he hadn’t taken up either of their offers. His other students could tell something was up and forced him into other activities as well. Claude was nosy, but he was pretty good at keeping things he found out to himself. 

It had been a week and Rhea had spent all of it resting in her room, finally starting to get better and stronger. But he refused to see her. He hadn’t even asked for news on her. He had just heard what the soldiers and his students were spreading around in the dining hall. 

He had just another sleepless night, staring at his ceiling, desperately trying to think of anything else. But all he could think about was how quiet the room was, devoid of a heartbeat. 

To his surprise, Flayn burst into his room in the early morning, not even bothering to knock. She dragged Seteth by his wrist in as well. 

“Professor, please get up. I require your assistance in town!” 

“Flayn, please, we have to—”

“You have been working too hard, Father! And you too, professor.” She said before he could even protest. 

He hadn’t even put his armor on for the day. 

“What do you need, Flayn.” 

“We need to go shopping.” 

Shopping. Byleth sighed. 

“Really, Flayn?” Seteth shook his head. 

“Yes. We beat the empire, and we have not celebrated!” Flayn turned to her father, pleading in her eyes. “Please? I know we still have much to do, but we deserve a small break.” 

Seteth’s shoulders fell, and he turned to look at Byleth. “Well?” 

“Sure.” Byleth moved to pick his boots up, sliding them on. 

In a few minutes, Flayn was skipping ahead of them on the main road through the monastery town. The town had come back to life, shops lining every street. It was even busier than it had been before the attack on the monastery. 

They hadn’t revealed the state of the war to the general public, so to them, the war was finally over. Banners hung from the buildings, music was playing in the streets. It was like a festival. 

“I was not expecting a celebration.” Seteth said, more to himself. 

Byleth shook his head. It hadn’t even occurred to him. But he had been preoccupied lately. 

“Did you know this celebration was going on, Flayn?” Seteth asked. 

Flayn just shrugged, going to look at a merchant’s stand. “Maybe.” She turned around, holding up a necklace the merchant was selling. “Oh, look at this one!” 

She was changing the subject.

“I must apologize for her, Byleth. She appears to have tricked us.” 

“She said she wanted to go shopping. And she’s doing that.” Byleth pointed out as she tried to haggle with the merchant. Poorly, he might add. She wasn’t the most firm with him.

“I suppose that is true.” He shook his head. “I still feel as though she has.”

Byleth shrugged as they followed her to another stall, her giving up on that merchant. She scanned the stalls eagerly, her eye catching on anything sparkling. 

Another stall down the line, Flayn tried to get the price of the jewelry down again, this time with a small woman. The woman was walking circles around her. 

He stepped up behind her, requesting the price Flayn said at first, steeling his face and staring at the woman. The woman refused. Byleth continued to stare at her, not blinking. She glanced around, getting uneasy. 

A few more seconds of this and she agreed, handing the item over after Flayn gave her the money. 

Walking away, Flayn admired the new purchase. “Wow, professor! You never told me you could haggle!” 

He shrugged. “You never said you couldn’t.” 

Flayn huffed, tucking the thing into her bag. “I can! I am not a child.”

“I didn’t say that.” 

“Oh.” 

“Don’t be so eager. Merchants know customers.” 

With this new advice, Flayn nodded, rushing off to find another stall. She did better this time, not getting her asking price, but still lower than the merchant’s price. 

“She has been talking about how she learned to haggle for a few weeks now.” Seteth said, watching her. “But I didn’t imagine she was serious.”

Byleth didn’t answer, just looking around at the different wares for sell. So many of the cloth items had been embordered with his crest, seeing as it was what they had marched under. It was weird, seeing it so many places. 

Flayn pulled them through a few more streets of merchants, excitedly talking about how fun haggling was, and trying to copy Byleth’s stoic face a few times, to varying success. Byleth had never really been a fan of festivals but strolling through the festivities with Seteth making comments about Flayn and her antics, he almost understood how most people felt about them. 

The sun was starting to fall, after several hours of walking and eating festival food. The sky turned a wonderful shade of orange. 

The three found themselves heading toward the town square, following the sound of music and people. 

The square was packed with townspeople, musicians in the corner, playing a soft gentle tune. Couples were in the center around the fountains dancing with each other. Soft lantern light lit the square as the sun dipped lower and lower. 

A few other students were here and Flayn ran off to go spend time with them, leaving Seteth and Byleth to watch from afar. 

“Do you remember the last time we were part of such a celebration.” Seteth suddenly asked. 

Byleth thought for a moment. “The ball?” 

“Yes.” A soft smile came to his face. “You looked so out of your element. That was the most uncomfortable I have ever seen you.” 

“I couldn’t dance.” Byleth couldn’t help but smile back. 

“No, you couldn’t. Have you learned?” 

Byleth shook his head. “Do I need to know how to dance?” 

“I suppose not but it’s still fun. I happen to enjoy the occasional dance.” 

“Is that your way of asking me to dance?”

“No, but it was a hint to get you to ask.” 

Byleth couldn’t stop the short laugh that came. He pulled Seteth out to the dance floor, mingling in with the other couples. He tried to remember what Seteth had said the last time, but he had been so caught up in the confusion and embarrassment at the time.

Lucky for him, Seteth picked it up, leading him again. 

This time he had some idea as to what he was feeling. He and Seteth knew each other much better. 

The light in Seteth’s hair and the look on his face was almost enough to make his heart start beating. He quickly shot the thought away, not wanting to think about that today. 

“I’m glad Flayn convinced us to come.” Byleth broke the silence. 

“She didn’t have to try very hard.” Seteth laughed, spinning him around again. “I must confess something to you, Byleth.”

He rose an eyebrow.

“Flayn was the one who told me to come ask you to dance all those years ago.” 

She was? He glanced over to see her laughing with her classmates, watching them. 

“She saw you stumbling with Claude and insisted I come teach you. Now, I think she was meddling.” 

“She did try to set up a date when I came back.” 

He shook his head. “What am I going to do with her?” The song ended, and the two stayed out on the floor, still holding each other. “Still, it was a push I think I needed. From there, I realized I wasn’t curious about you from a… concerned standpoint. Although I had given that up to pursue friendship with you long before that.”

Byleth wanted to kiss him but he knew he didn’t like that in front of other people. Dancing was different, it seemed. 

Another song started back up, but Seteth pulled them off the floor. 

The found a bench in a corner away from everyone. The music was muted back here and the hanging lanterns cast shadows over everything. Glancing up at the sky, Byleth took note that the stars were brighter than usual. 

“Byleth, I hope you do not think I have taken Rhea’s side in this.”

Byleth shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it today.”

He nodded. Shuffling around in his pocket, he pulled something out. “I saw this in a stall earlier, and I got it, thinking you’d like it.” 

Seteth held up a small flower charm. “I noticed that you grow a lot of these in the greenhouse. I thought that meant it was your favorite flower.” It was the same kind that his dad had said was his mother’s favorite. He didn’t say that, however. It would ruin the mood. 

“I know you aren’t one for jewelry. You are a soldier after all, but I noticed a small pin on your desk once.” Byleth took the charm from his hand, turning it over. There was a small chain on it, to attach it to whatever.

“It’s wonderful.” He held it up to the lights. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GIVE THESE BOYS A BREAK
> 
> also i really wanna write the stardew valley au lol but i gotta finish this fic first lol. i might draw somethin tho


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna say the smut bit i wrote is between last chapter and this one~

Everything was set to march in the morning, and here he was, unable to sleep. Typically, he’d head out to the graveyard to watch the stars, but tonight he sat on the steps in front of his room. A storm was moving in again, kicking the wind up. 

When the monastery was quiet like this, he could almost forget how strange it still felt to him. He had lived here almost two years but calling it home was too much. He cared only for the people he met here. 

Claude and he had talked about what to do after the battle was won and peace was finally established. He talked about wanting to open the border with Almyra again. He had never said, but Byleth knew the rest of his family was up there. He had no personal issues with Almyra, or any other country, and as long as he wouldn’t have to fight a war again, he was alright with that. 

But he was being dodgy about his position in Fodlan. Byleth knew a scheme when he saw one, and Claude was coming up with a big one. One he probably wouldn’t like.

Leaning back against the steps, he watched the clouds roll in. For the first time in his life, he was tired of fighting. Before it had just been a necessity he had put up with, but had never been truly tired. But they had built up the fight in Enbarr to be the end, and then it just wasn’t. 

And who was to say this one wouldn’t also lead into another battle. 

He had a bad feeling. 

He pulled out the handkerchief he had impulse bought a few days ago at the festival Flayn had dragged him to. On it was his crest, embroidered in gold thread. It had been cheap, and he had been intrigued to have something that had his crest on it. His crest he wasn’t really born with. 

That was another thing. Everyone around him that had a crest knew at least one person who also had it. But no one had his. And he knew there was a reason for that. No one else had a Crest Stone lodged in their chest. 

But how had Nemesis had it then? There must have been something else Rhea knew. Something else about the Relics and Crest Stones. 

Now wasn’t the time to ask. He had a fight to win. Again. 

Sighing, he sat back up, his hands finding his face. He really didn’t want to. 

He sat like that for a few minutes before he heard footsteps coming. He glanced around his hands and saw a pair of familiar boots. 

“How do you always know when I’m out?” Looking up, Seteth was standing in front of him. 

“I was actually coming by to see if I might stay with you tonight….” He glanced away awkwardly. He knew what he was thinking about. “I was quite restless.” 

“Oh.” 

“But it seems you were too.” 

“Yeah.” He nodded to the step next to him. 

“I am fairly surprised you’re here if you can’t sleep. Wouldn’t you usually be in the graveyard?” 

Byleth nodded. “It’s hard right now.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“My dad. The Sothis thing.” 

“Ah, I see.” He didn’t push further. “I cannot begin to know what to say about the situation.” 

“I’d rather nothing be said.” 

They fell into silence after that. 

Byleth let his mind wander again, thinking about the coming battle. They had no idea what the place would look like. All they had was a location to go to. From there, they would be marching blind. 

“We should go inside.” Seteth muttered.

“Probably.” 

Neither of them moved.

The wind started to pick back up, blowing Byleth’s hair into his face, along with a few leaves laying about. That was probably a sign they really did need to go inside. The smell of rain followed. 

He stood up, offering a hand to Seteth. He had left his door cracked, letting the outside air in. The room had cooled down to match the outside temperature too. 

The two settled out on his bed, Seteth’s head on his shoulder. His breathing seemed to even out quickly. He must have been tired, and only stayed up because Byleth hadn’t wanted to sleep. 

He still didn’t. His mind was too active, spinning circles around this coming fight and the mystery around the group they were fighting. 

But laying here with Seteth, he could at least close his eyes and try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda short, but that's where it wanted to end. But we're getting to the last battles of the game so hey


	38. Chapter 38

It was cold underground. 

Away from the sun, it felt like all live had faded away. The steep walls and rundown buildings surrounding them were empty, not a sound to be heard. Even their own footsteps were muffled and quiet. 

Rhea had insisted on marching down with them. She was still weak, but she hadn’t asked for any breaks or rest or anything. They had barely heard anything from her.

Byleth glanced back. She had her head held high and her steps were confident and strong, but something in her face gave her away. Seteth was marching beside her, keeping an eye on her. If anything happened, he was sure he’d let them all know. 

Part of Shamballa felt like the end of the world. No life, no sun, no anything. Even the air felt impossible to breathe. 

The deeper they got, the more unnatural it felt. A soft clunking sound had started echoing off the walls. 

Byleth and Claude shared a glance. 

No one said anything. They all just crept along, slower than before, careful to make even less noise. 

Finally, they reached what looked like the final level, and suddenly there was life. In a very vague sense of the word. 

The battle that followed was brutal. The mechanic beasts they had to fight were ruthless, targeting those even at the back of the group. They had some strange contraption that took no damage but could send a bolt of lightning toward them. 

Byleth found himself charging up against their leader, his Sword of the Creator burning in his hand. Once this man was dead, this war would truly be over. No more fighting, no more strategy meetings, no more long marches across the continent. 

Rhea, for what it was worth, was right there with him. He didn’t trust her capabilities, but she proved to be stronger than he thought, even in her compromised state. Under any other circumstances, he might have changed his opinion of her. 

He shot his sword forward, dealing a heavy hit to Thales. As he stumbled back, Byleth made for the stairs. 

A hand on his shoulder held him back, however.

Almost angry, he looked over his shoulder to see Rhea watching Thales. 

He bent down, still reeling from the hit. His hand touched the floor, muttering something to himself. As his speech finished, the room was filled with a light, not blinding, but disorienting all the same. 

Rhea gasped next to him. “No!” 

That was all Byleth needed to turn to Claude. “Go. Now.” 

He barely got the words out before the ceiling came crashing down on them. Claude gave the order to the troops, retreating back into the halls, scrambling to get out before the next hit. 

Those things that hit them at Fort Merceus were back, screaming through the sky. Byleth didn’t know how to fight them, but he couldn’t retreat while Thales still lived. 

The man cackled from his place on the steps. Byleth ignored the next scream, charging up the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him. This ended now. 

Before his sword met his neck, the room shook again. He stumbled but his sword still found its target, burying deep into the hard flesh. Thales fell at his feet. 

He turned to see Rhea had followed him halfway up the stairs. 

“Go!” He shouted again. 

“Professor, we must—”

Another scream of a javelin was headed toward them. Byleth turned to the sky, seeing several headed straight for them. Turning behind him, he saw Thales’ hand was still on that sigil. He still had some power left in him.

He was out of ideas. 

But it seemed Rhea wasn’t. With a cry, she transformed in front of him, launching herself into the sky. 

He could do nothing but watch as the underground city crumbled around him. 

Unlike the last time he saw her in this form, he could nothing to help her. His sword did nothing against those things. The power he’d gotten from Sothis did nothing to them. For once, he was powerless to help himself. 

Rhea had fended off most of the javelins of light. One crashed next to the bunker, rattling things, but nothing more crumbled down. 

Just as it seemed they were in the clear, another came down, taking Rhea by surprise. 

She came crashing down, falling between the rubble. 

Byleth waited a few moments, watching the sky. But it seemed that was the last. 

After tossing some rocks aside, he found Rhea unconscious among the destruction. He sighed, leaning down to check her vitals. It was weak, but he could hear a heartbeat. He steeled himself, still rattled from the impacts, and hoisted her up onto his shoulders. Now, to find a way out of this mess.

\---

When his boots found the grass, he almost collapsed. But he didn’t. He fell to a knee, swinging Rhea off his shoulders. 

He heard someone shouting behind him, but after climbing out of underground city, with a person on his back, after an awful battle, he was done. 

The sun had never felt so good on his face. He didn’t know how cold he had been, but now with the warmth and light on his face, he took a deep breath. His lungs cleared. 

“Byleth!” It was Seteth. He felt his hand on his shoulder. “Are you hurt anywhere?” 

It was all he could do to shake his head. He didn’t think he was anyway. He was just exhausted. His adrenaline had died a while ago, leaving him with nothing but his grit and determination to get him and Rhea out of there.

As much as he couldn’t stand her, he didn’t hate her, and no one deserved to die alone in that pit. And the world still needed her. 

He simply nodded to her, trying to tell Seteth she was the one that needed attention. He seemed to get the idea, waving Flayn and another healer over. 

Seteth helped him back to his feet. “Flayn will take care of Rhea. For now, Byleth, let us get a camp set up.” 

\---

When he woke up, it was dark. A deep red canvas hung over his head, lit by a dim lantern in the corner of the tent. He didn’t remember setting up a tent. 

“You’re awake.” Turning his head on his pillow, he saw Seteth sitting up next to him. “You collapsed after a few steps earlier. I was worried.” 

“You always worry.” That earned him a half-hearted glare from Seteth. He laughed once under his breath. “Carrying someone out of a crumbled old maze of a city is exhausting.” 

“That is what Flayn told me. I trust her healing abilities, but I had never seen you reach that state of exhaustion. So some part of me thought….” He ended his sentence there. 

He didn’t really want to ask, but he should. “Rhea?” 

“She is… alive. I fear she is… beyond recovery, however.” 

“Did the healers say that?” 

Seteth shook his head. “No. But I—”

“Worry too much.” Byleth finished his sentence. He sat up, running a hand through his hair. It was sticky with sweat and debris. 

“We all saw her take that blow. And the fall.” Seteth closed his eyes. 

Byleth chose not to voice his own opinions about that. She had taken it on herself to protect him. Because she saw him as some house for goddess’ soul or something. 

“She used her transformation too soon after the events at Enbarr. If she had been at her full strength, she would have been fine, for the most part.” 

“Seteth.”

“We should have been more prepared. We should have tried to stop her from—”

“Seteth.” He stopped. “We couldn’t have known. We went blind.” He watched as his shoulders shook. “Let the healers work.” 

“You’re right. Of course. I’m sorry. This war has taken a great toll on me, it seems.” He put a hand over his face, taking a deep breath. “I thought I would never find my sister again, only to find out she has had shady practices going on, and then almost losing her again.” 

Byleth didn’t understand the bond between siblings, but he understood caring for someone. If Seteth had been as Rhea was now, Byleth was sure even he could not hide the fear he’d feel. But that was a different kind of love, he guessed. 

For now, all he could do was distract him. “Is there still food?” 

“Yes, of course. Do you want me to fetch it for you?”

Byleth shook his head, moving to stand. “I need to work the stiffness out. But I’d like to eat with you?” Seteth just nodded.

He pushed himself up, feeling his stiff muscles cry at the weight. He almost stumbled back down but caught himself on a tent pole. Seteth rushed over to help him, but he gave him a look. 

“Relax. My legs are just sore.” 

Seteth watched him carefully as they made their way to the fire pit where the food was being passed out to those who were still on watch. Seteth found them a place to sit on the edge of the clearing, rushing off to grab them both something to eat.

He wasn’t really that hungry, but he knew he needed to eat, so he did. Neither of them said anything as they ate, just staring at the fire together. 

Seteth finished first, setting his plate to the side. “Byleth, do you think this war is finally over?” 

“What other enemies could we possibly have?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work has been the worst lately lol


	39. Chapter 39

As soon as they got back to the monastery, everyone split off, going to their own rooms or relax in some of the common areas. Byleth wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. So he went to the fish pond. 

His body was still tired, but now that this war was officially over, he had all the time in the world to recover and relax. He hadn’t been fishing in a while, and he forgot how much he actually enjoyed it. 

For the first time, he realized he actually did enjoy it. Before it had just been a necessity. A way to feed himself and his students. But as he sat out by the pond, no need for food, staring out at the water, it hit him. 

He had never had a hobby before. Well, maybe he had, but between everything else, he hadn’t realized it. It wasn’t like he thought it’d be. 

He wasn’t quite sure how long he sat out there, just throwing his catches back in the water to catch again. The sun had begun to set, however, so it was a few hours at least. For maybe the first time since he’d come to the monastery, no one came to bother him. 

That was enough for tonight, though. Byleth packed up his gear and put it back in the pond’s shed, before heading up to the dining hall to get something to eat before going to his room for the night. 

It was fairly empty today. Most everyone was either spending time with their friends or asleep already. He couldn’t blame them. It had been a long, gruesome war. 

Part of him wondered how Rhea was doing. She hadn’t woken up on the way back. But he also didn’t want to deal with the wave of anger that always came over him when around her. 

In the next few days and weeks, they’d have to enter talks with the remaining noble houses and make decisions for the future of Fodlan, but for now, it was quiet.

\---

He woke to the sound of knocking at his door. He knew it was Seteth, probably here to worry more or just to spend time together now that everything was settled.

It was Claude.

“You seem surprised to see me, Teach.” He smirked at him. “Expecting someone else?” 

Byleth nodded. Claude laughed, but there wasn’t a lot of emotion behind it. It seemed dry, and tense. 

“Mind taking a walk with me down to the town? I, uh, got something I want to talk to you about.” 

Byleth just shrugged and moved to put his boots on, running a hand through his hair. It was always kind of a mess so no one would really notice. 

Claude was quiet until they passed under the monastery gates. “Man, these townspeople sure know how to keep a party going.”

All the decorations were still up from the festival Flayn had brought him to. Most of the merchants were still set up, and selling new wares as well. The air was still rich with music and laughter. 

“Now that Fodlan is united, what do you think is the next step?” Claude suddenly asked him, as he pretended to shop through a stall. 

“I’ve never been in a war. I don’t know.” 

“Me neither, to be honest. But I know things have to change. No one knows if Rhea will make it, and I’ve heard whispers about that people are suspecting we’re open for an invasion.”

“From who?” 

“Brigid. Almyra. Who knows. I just hear whispers as I walk through. People are just scared.” Claude sighed. “They fear outsiders still.” 

“That won’t change overnight.” 

“No. But I thought perhaps, with everyone together as one nation, that fear would begin to disappear.” Claude left the stall, the merchant glaring at him, and continued walking. “You know, Edelgard and I didn’t have such different goals. We wanted to unite Fodlan. We wanted to dismantle the system that kept people down.”

Byleth knew that. They had talked about this before. Neither of them had ever hated Edelgard. They had only really fought her out of necessity. 

“I think I should go back to Almyra.” 

What? Byleth stopped walking and stared at the back of his head. 

“Not right away, Teach! After I help you get settled and all, I’ll take off.” 

“Help me get settled?” He almost didn’t ask it like a question. Here it came. The part he knew he wouldn’t like. 

“Well, if it’s not me, the people will want it to be you. The hero of Fodlan. The man who ended the war, and the one who wields the fabled Sword of the Creator. To be honest, I think even if I were to stay, people wouldn’t be too happy about me leading the union. They were never too happy in the Alliance when I took over.” 

“I’m… not a leader, Claude. Not on that scale.” 

“Sure you are, Teach! And it’s not like you’d be alone. I’m sure the rest of your students would be glad to help out. And we won’t even mention your boyfriend’s qualifications.” He winked. “Only the goddess knows what that man has seen and done.” 

“I—”

“Just think about it, Teach. If you come up with someone better, let me know, but I figure you probably won’t.” Claude just waved and headed back up to the monastery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp
> 
> Sorry I'm being slow. I'm replaying Xenoblade and work is intense lately. Who knew running a kids department right before christmas would suck? Lol, hope yall enjoy anyway~


	40. Chapter 40

Byleth wasn’t quite sure what he did the rest of the day. He was in a haze after talking to Claude. 

He ended up watching the sunset from the benches over the graveyard. As if the horizon would give him some answer or guidance. 

He couldn’t lead a whole nation. He was just a mercenary who was thrown into all this. He never asked to be a part of this war, or this goddess nonsense, or anything else. But Claude did have a point. 

The way his students followed his every word. The way townspeople and villagers responded to his assistance. But that wasn’t all him. 

He was so lost in his own head he didn’t notice Seteth had come up behind him.

“Byleth? There you are.” He almost jumped at the hand on his shoulder. 

Seteth’s face changed as he looked at him. “Are you okay?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Did something happen?” 

“Kind of. Claude… told me he wants me to be the one who runs the new nation….” 

Seteth moved to sit next to him. “While that is surprising, I cannot say I disagree with him.” 

Byleth glanced over at him. Of course he would say that. 

“Did Claude say what he would do?” 

“Go back to Almyra.” 

Seteth nodded. “That would make sense. He does seem to have many Almyran connections.” Byleth thought that was an understatement. “But I’m going to assume you disagree with his decision.”

“Not really. He can do what he wants. But I don’t think it should be me.” 

“If not you, then who?”

Byleth shrugged. “I don’t know.” Seteth didn’t answer. “I wasn’t raised for that.” 

“Maybe that is for the best. I feel that that may be what the world needs now.” 

He frowned, looking back over the falling sun. He didn’t like it, but they were all probably right. Seteth had been around long enough to know what he was talking about, and Claude had been groomed for leadership. Two of the most important people in his life, both telling him the same thing. 

But something still felt off about it. He didn’t know if it was just him, or something else. 

“I guess.” He just brushed it off for now. 

“We still have war negotiations to wrap up, so there is time to decide on what you truly want, Byleth.” Seteth’s hand came up the back of his neck, thumb soothing over the hairs there. “Now, I can tell you haven’t relaxed since we got back. Perhaps, you and I can go off somewhere tomorrow. I’d suggest a picnic, but as you know, I am not the best of chefs.” 

“You cook fine.” Byleth couldn’t help the small smile that found his face. “But that would be nice. I never took you to my favorite stargazing spot.” 

“I thought you had?” 

“No. I avoided it because of the war. That was another spot.” 

“Oh. Well, we could go out there, now that everything is over.” 

That sounded like the best idea someone had told him in months. Byleth let his head fall onto Seteth’s shoulder. Everything was swirling in his head, but Seteth was always there to talk sense into him, or go with him through whatever turmoil he experienced. 

Seteth let his arm fall over Byleth’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “It is amazing to me, how much you have changed in the time we’ve been together.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, first of all, we can have conversations. You speak in more than a short sentence to me. While I enjoyed our companionable silences, I do quite like your voice.” Seteth laughed low in his chest. “But I was thinking about how you were once scared to hold my hand.” 

Byleth thought back. “I wasn’t scared.” He had been more scared of not knowing how to respond to his feelings. “Well, maybe. But not of holding your hand.” He could tell Seteth didn’t believe without even seeing his face. “I told you I didn’t feel anything before coming here. I didn’t know how to respond to all this.” 

“To be honest, I was scared as well. I had not been so drawn to someone since my wife.” 

“Is that why you glance around before you kiss me?” 

“No, that is simply because I’m uncomfortable with public displays.” 

“Oh.” That was understandable. He could live with that. “There’s no one around right now….” Byleth picked his head up off his shoulder. 

“That is true.” Seteth shifted his hand from his shoulders up to his cheek. “I suppose I could humor you.” 

If there was one thing he was grateful to this war for, it was this. Being with Seteth. He could only hope things would get even better now that it was over. 

Someone clearing their throat made Seteth pull away quickly, coughing into his fist and looking away, red-faced. Byleth couldn’t help the smile at how cute he was like that. 

“Excuse me, sir.” Byleth turned to look at the soldier standing there. “You have been requested in the council room. It’s urgent.”

Urgent. Claude wouldn’t call announcing him stepping away urgent. Someone was up.

Byleth nodded to the soldier and stood up reluctantly, pulling Seteth with him. 

“Do you think—”

“I think this is the bad feeling I had.” 

“But the last battle was….”

“I know. But it never left.” 

Seteth just nodded and followed him up to the room. Claude and Rhea were already there, sitting at the tables, staring at one of their scouts. The scout seemed nervous and scared, but of what? Was this was Claude was talking about earlier, with people being scared of an invasion? Who could possibly invade them right now? 

“Seteth, Professor, thank you for joining us.” Rhea stood, holding the chair for balance. She was pale and shaking, barely keeping it together. But she was awake, so that was something. 

“What’s going on?” Byleth asked. 

“Sir,” the scout stood up, saluting to him. He shook his head. “We discovered some… horrible information. I fear it means our war is not yet over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy!


	41. Chapter 41

“There was a… it wasn’t an army. But it was a group of people, cutting their way through. I didn’t get a look at any of their faces.” The scout started, voice shaking. “But their weapons…. They looked like the Heroes’ Relics.” 

“What?” Seteth’s hands slammed into the table. “That’s not possible.”

The scout jumped at the sound. Clearly, he was shaken by what he saw. “That’s what we saw! The one leading them seemed to have your sword, Professor.” 

Byleth narrowed his eyes. “Did you see anything else?” 

“They were ruthless. They cut through a small merchant caravan with no hesitation. We were going to step in, but one of them looked up at us…. It was like ice had entered our veins. We were frozen.” 

Claude spoke up. “The only one who can wield the Sword of the Creator is our dear Teach here. So they must be wielding fakes. Anyone who can wield a relic is either here or dead. Other than a few parents or siblings, but you’d have recognized them.”

“There was nothing familiar about these… things.” 

“There’s someone else who could wield my sword, Claude.” 

“Yeah, over a thousand years ago. There’s no way—”

“After everything, is it really off the table?” Byleth cut him off. 

He didn’t answer. Rhea instead stood up and thanked the scout, dismissing him. He scurried out of the room, letting the door slam behind him. 

“Professor, you speak of Nemesis.” 

He nodded. 

Seteth shook his head. “That’s nonsense, Byleth. There’s no way he could live.” 

“I am inclined to agree with Seteth.” Rhea said. “He fell at my own hands.” 

“That Thales man had the ability to control giant mechanical beasts and summon destructive forces from the sky. What’s to say he couldn’t somehow trigger a reawakening of an ancient corpse?” Claude mumbled, more to himself, but it was exactly what Byleth had been thinking as well. 

Rhea shook her head. “I would have known.” 

“Because of his connection to Sothis?” Byleth stared at her. 

“He was not connected to her!” She rose her voice, before taking a breath to settle back down. “He stole her sleeping body. He handed her to those vile beings, and forged her and my kin’s bodies into those things!” 

Claude hummed to himself. “So that’s what they truly are.” 

“Before we went underground, I thought of Nemesis.” Byleth confessed. “I wondered how we were connected, to be able to wield the same sword.”

“You have no connection to him, Professor!” 

“Easy, Rhea.” Seteth tried to calm her. “He was just curious, as anyone would be.” 

“I’m not Sothis, Rhea.”

She didn’t respond, simply sitting back down in her chair to collect herself. 

“But if it’s truly him, we need to prepare immediately.” 

Claude nodded. “No doubt he is being drawn to your Sword of the Creator, Teach. We’ll have to evacuate the surrounding towns. We can’t march again so soon, but give it a week and maybe we could meet them in that swamp….” Claude ran through a few plans in his head, clearly trying to imagine an enemy he had no information on. 

“We’ll work off that, Claude.” Byleth stood up. “We need to inform the troops.” 

Rhea stood up again, shaky now that she wasn’t fueled with anger. “I will summon them. These creatures are going against my own teachings. I must be the one to call them to action.” She nodded to one of the guards in the room, who followed her out of the room. 

“I’m going the library, Teach. Try not to need me for a few hours.” Claude nodded to him before heading out as well. 

With only Seteth in the room, staring at him, Byleth let his face fall to the table, the cold wood reminding him that this was somehow real. 

“I thought this was over….” 

“As did I.” Seteth’s hand came to his back. “As I also thought that ancient war was over. But it seems we can never be free from it.” 

He fell silent for a moment before speaking again. “I… need to apologize, Byleth…. I never told you I was….”

“It’s fine. I knew.”

“You did?” Seteth seemed shocked. “How?” 

“I put it together when you hadn’t changed physically after five years, although, I tried not to think about it. And whenever you mentioned your wife.”

“I have always prided myself on my secrecy. But it seems I cannot fool you.” 

“You also talk in your sleep sometimes. I could tell you were dreaming of Flayn, and you called her Cethleann.” 

“Oh.” Seteth cleared his throat. “I did not know I spoke in my sleep.” 

“It’s not often.” 

“And… how do you feel about that knowledge?”

“It’s strange, but no more so than me.” Byleth gestured to his chest. “I’m a man who was a dead baby, with a fancy rock shoved in my chest. I couldn’t feel things until a goddess showed up in my head and basically gave me her life.” 

“I suppose that is true.” Seteth laughed once. “We make an interesting pair.” 

“I guess we do.” Byleth smiled at him. 

He paused for a moment. “Wait, how did you know I was dreaming of Flayn?” 

“You had a smile on your face that you only give to her.” Byleth laughed. 

Seteth seemed like he wanted to protest, but Byleth rose an eyebrow at him. “Come on, I know you and your faces by now.” 

“I wish I could say the same. You have the same face for everyone.”

He shrugged. “It’s just my face.” 

“I’m only teasing.”

“I know.” 

Seteth seemed to think to himself for a moment. “Can I ask why you had been thinking of Nemesis?” 

“My crest.” Byleth answered. “Everyone else has someone who shares their crest. But I don’t. And I understand why, but I was wondering how he dealt with it. But that was never shared between us.” He sighed, standing. “I only share a sword with a thief and madman, it seems.” 

“You are more than Nemesis ever was, Byleth. Please believe that.” 

“It’s not that I don’t. It’s just the one person I thought perhaps who understood the burden is not what I was told he was. By Rhea’s institution. The woman who forced this on me.” He shook his head. “It’s just lonely, Seteth. That’s all.” 

“I can’t claim to understand, Byleth, but you must know you aren’t alone. You have me, Flayn, Claude, the rest of your students. We all love you.” 

Seteth wrapped his arms around Byleth, pulling him as close as he could. Byleth didn’t lift his arms, but did lay his forehead on Seteth’s shoulder. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me tell you, when you're writing about a horrible war, MCR is great background music lol
> 
> But like tbh it's just what i listen to when i write lol
> 
> enjoy!


	42. Chapter 42

Byleth woke up, Seteth’s hand running through his hair lazily. He felt like it was too early for either of them to be awake. Seteth noticed his eyes open and smiled at him. 

“Good morning.” 

Byleth just groaned, pulling himself closer and trying to cover the light in the room. 

“I suppose it is still early.” Seteth went back to stroking his hair. “I just couldn’t sleep anymore.”

“Stay.” Byleth muttered into his chest.

“I had no plans on leaving.” 

Just as he started to drift on again, Seteth’s hand smoothing his hair down, there was a knock at the door. Byleth rubbed at his eyes. Of course. He made to sit up before Seteth pushed him back down.

“No, I’ll get it.” 

That was surprising. Seteth never got the door. He was shy about their physical relationship. Byleth supposed he was too but less so. But their relationship had been out in the open for a few months now. He even stopped reacting so much to Claude’s teasing.

Seteth shuffled around for a moment, leaving the bed, and finally going to the door.

“Hello? Ah, Rhea?” He heard Seteth say, a hint of panic beginning to build. 

Rhea? Byleth sat up, forgetting that he hadn’t been wearing a shirt. 

“Seteth?” He had quickly thrown a shirt Byleth had had laying around on. It was clearly not his own, too short and tight on his shoulders. “What are you doing at the professor’s door?” That was when she looked inside and saw Byleth still in bed, blanket around his waist, shirtless. 

He noticed she quickly tried to hide her shock but wasn’t doing a very good job. 

She stared at him for a good minutes before glancing away, staring at the door. “I… had come to talk to the professor, but it seems I have… interrupted something….” 

“Kind of.” Byleth said bluntly.

“Byleth.” Seteth shot him a confused and hard glare. He just shrugged back at him. “We were—”

“I do not need to know, Seteth.” Rhea put a hand up to stop him. As the shock wore off, Byleth noticed how tired she actually looked. It seemed she had pulled through the worst of her injuries, but it seemed some of the other issues hadn’t cleared up yet. “I would have liked for you to tell me you two were… involved, but we have all been preoccupied.” 

“Why are you here, Rhea?” Byleth finally said. 

“Byleth, don’t be rude.” 

Byleth ignored him. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” 

“Yes. But I had wanted to… apologize for my temper yesterday.” 

“It couldn’t wait until we got up?” Seteth shot him another glare. He shrugged. “She’s never come to my room before.” 

“I suppose it could have… but I was out with one of the pegasi this morning—”

“Rhea! You should not be out in this condition!” Seteth went to scolding her. “What if—”

She held her hand up to stop him. “I had to see this phantom army myself. It is indeed what you thought, professor. But for now, I will leave you to get ready for the day, and ask you see me later.” 

“Alright.” Byleth nodded. Seteth watched her slowly walk away before closing the door. 

“I was not expecting her.”

“Me neither.” Byleth finally stood from the bed, going to his drawers. “I also didn’t know you hadn’t mentioned us to her.”

“She was never in a state of mind to hear it. I did try, however. She simply said ‘I am glad the professor has you to look to for guidance’.” 

Byleth almost laughed at that. 

“I don’t think she expected me to be with someone.” Seteth shook his head. 

“Well, it’s too late to go back to sleep, I guess.” Byleth fought the yawn coming up. “Let’s just go get breakfast.” 

He nodded and went back to the door. Byleth stopped him, eyes darting to his shirt and back up, eyebrow raised. “What?” 

“Seteth. You put on my shirt. You are taller than me.” 

He looked down, noticing that it was indeed one of Byleth’s. “Oh.”

\---

Sometime after lunch, Byleth decided it was finally time to talk to Rhea as she requested. Seteth had made an excuse to stay behind in his office, claiming he needed to shuffle through a mountain of paperwork. Sometimes, Byleth thought he padded the stack with empty sheets to simply look busy so others wouldn’t bother him.

Either way, he ended up at Rhea’s door, knocking. He heard her mumble something and the door creaked open to a nun standing there.

“Oh, professor!” She motioned him in. “Lady Rhea, I will go fetch you some food.” She bowed and left the room. 

Byleth turned to see Rhea sitting up in her bed. 

“I did not know you were involved with Seteth.” She started. “How long as that been going on?” 

Byleth shrugged. “Before Edelgard attacked, I guess.” 

“And I never noticed.” She shook her head, laughing to herself. “But that is not why I had asked you here.” 

“Why did you?” 

“I wanted to apologize for yesterday. You told me you weren’t Sothis. I fear that, although I know that, I still held hope. And that is wrong. You are you, Professor.” Her eyes fell. “I must begin to accept that.” 

Byleth didn’t respond.

“It is my wish that someday, perhaps, we can be friends. I had seen you with Flayn and Seteth, both of them looking at you as family. I wished to join them.” She stopped for a moment. “Now I understand why they would, however. It is not so simple a case as friendship, it seems.” 

“You want to be friends?” Byleth almost sneered at her but kept his cool. 

“Someday, if you decided to forgive me. I will not ask you to follow what I want anymore.”

Byleth shook his head. “You never should have in the first place. I wasn’t even your kid.”

“In a way, I saw you as mine, as wrong as it was.”

He was getting angry at her again, but just tried to push it back down. This wasn’t the time or place. He had already been through this with her.

“And now that you are seeing Seteth, I suppose we will be family at some point.” 

“What?” 

“Well, I imagine the two of you will get married someday, perhaps after the war. I can hardly believe Seteth has not already proposed. He tends to be quite impatient with these things.” Rhea laughed, seeming to be far away. She must have been thinking of Seteth’s wife. He didn’t like being compared to her. 

“You are quite different from her, but you also have many similarities. She was just as fearsome on the battlefield as you, professor, but she was quite talkative. Never a silent moment with that woman.” 

“Must be where Flayn gets it.” 

“Oh yes. She takes after her mother. But that is beside the point.” She looked back at him. “I just wanted to say I hope you two will remain happy together. Seteth has been through a lot, as have you, and you deserve it.”

He hadn’t been expecting that. Seteth had worried about her finding out, but this was… almost kind? 

“I… Thank you.” He stopped himself from saying anything else. He still resented her for everything, but she was weak, and she was trying to apologize in this moment. He couldn’t forgive her, but he could fight with her in this last battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YALL HEAR ABOUT MCR? MY 13 YO SELF IS SCREAMING IN THE BACK OF MY 26 YO BRAIN
> 
> anyway, woops rhea walked in lol. I'm tempted to give another shot at sex stuff but idk lol that other one kinda just happened. But I got a weird weekend so maybe~ 
> 
> Enjoy!


	43. Chapter 43

The scouts came in with another report. Nemesis was quickly closing in on them, maybe three days out. Claude had made a plan to meet them out in a field, to save the rebuilt town and monastery. They were heading out to prepare tonight. 

It was only a few hours away, so it wasn’t like it was another long grueling march, but Byleth still dreaded it. Glancing around his room, he knew he didn’t have anything to pack, but still wanted to make sure. 

He had his armor and his sword, so he was fine. 

They had convinced Rhea to stay behind. She was too weak to fight, and the nurses were still worried about her state. Seteth was concerned about her mental state as well. That was fine. That last thing this fight needed was a crazed dragon lady on the loose. 

The gatekeeper waved him over as he walked toward the gates where they were all meeting.

“Professor! Hey!” Byleth smiled at him. “Good luck out there, alright?” 

Byleth nodded back at him. 

“It’s hard to believe this war isn’t over yet. I feel like it’s been going on forever.” He sighed. “What do you think peace even feels like anymore?”

Byleth shrugged. “Was there ever really peace?” 

“Sure there was. But it has been quite some time. Most of our adult lives, I suppose.” The gatekeeper perked up. ‘But I believe in you! I know you’ll find a way to end this!” 

“Thanks.”

The gatekeeper waved as he walked out of the monastery gates. 

\---

It started raining as they set up camp. The field would end up flooded if it kept up for too long. They had fought in worse so Byleth wasn’t too worried about it. 

He stood in the strategy tent, watching the rain fall as Claude told some of the squad leaders what he had planned for them. He wasn’t listening to closely. He had other things on his mind. 

Nemesis, resurrected from the dead, was coming for them. That was an idea that should have been impossible. But he was also in that category of impossible. 

Part of him was eager to see this sword Nemesis had. They concluded that they were fakes, obviously, but had something to do with their reanimation. He wondered if it would feel the same as his own Sword of the Creator. 

“Teach!” Claude called him. He turned to go finish up the meeting with the others.

As the sun fell, he found himself in his tent, watching the rain through the open flap door. It was almost too quiet in the field. Sure the rain was loud, but past that, he couldn’t hear the soldiers in their own tents. 

He and Seteth had planned to share a tent, as they often did, but he hadn’t come back from where the war horses and wyverns were staying yet. He knew he often worried about his wyvern in the rain.

He wondered if he chose to ride wyverns because of his lost dragon form. It strange to think the man he loved used to be able to turn into a dragon. But at the same time….

“Byleth, you should keep the flap closed in a storm like this. Who knows when the wind will pick up.” Seteth ducked in, grabbing a towel in the corner to dry his hair. 

“I wanted to watch the rain.” 

Seteth rose an eyebrow at that, but left it alone. Byleth didn’t know why either. 

“Do you want to watch with me?” Byleth asked instead. 

“I’m soaking wet, Byleth.” 

“So change?” 

“Right here? But we aren’t….”

“Aren’t what, Seteth? It’s our own tent.” 

“Yes, that’s true, but….” He stopped himself again. 

“Did you get mad at me for standing around in wet clothes once? Just change.” 

His cheeks had a hint of pink before he just nodded and faced away from him. Byleth watched him take too long to shuffle through the small bag he brought with spare clothes. It was kind of cute to watch him try to undress and redress as quickly as possible. 

Once he was dry, he came over and sat next to Byleth, who had turned back to the field. The rain was getting heavier, drowning out anything else that could be out there. Not that he could hear it before. 

“Do you think this is finally the end?” Byleth wondered aloud, more thinking to himself. 

“I hope so. But I thought that about the past two battles.” Seteth sighed, shoulders slumping forward. “I don’t know of any other previous enemies who could come back there are. Unless Rhea has left some events out of her time when Flayn and I were in hiding.” He sounded like he expected that. 

“She already did hide things from you.” He was referring to himself.

“I know.” 

“I wonder where the capital of the new ‘United Fodan’ is going to be.” 

“It was once Enbarr, before the Kingdom and Alliance broke off. I had thought it would go back there. It is one of the oldest cities. Did you want it somewhere else?” 

“I didn’t think about it. I just thought it was far from the monastery.” Far from Seteth. If he was to be this new ruler. Now that Rhea was so weak, Seteth wouldn’t want to leave her. 

“I see.” Seteth turned to face him, his hand coming to his face. “You know, we can still be together after the war, right? I know you don’t see the monastery as your home, but that doesn’t mean anything about us.” 

“I know, but….” He had never had any experience with him being away from the monastery to draw on. 

“We can figure it out. I haven’t even decided if I’ll stay at the monastery. Rhea may be my sister, but she has done many things I don’t approve of. And the church’s place in this world has changed.” 

“Okay.” It wasn’t a sure thing, but it was more than he thought he’d get. 

“Byleth, I love you. I’m not just going to let that go.” His fingers wove into his hair. “Perhaps this war ending is the scariest thing. It’s hard to imagine what to do with peace.” 

Byleth just wanted to focus on Seteth’s hand in his hair. He had come to really like this kind of contact with him. 

“We really should close up the tent for the night.” 

“I know.” 

Seteth pulled away and Byleth had to keep the frown from his face as he watched him go and close it up. It was significantly warmer already, but he didn’t really care about that. Cold never really got to him. 

Seteth pulled him over to their sleeping bags, suggesting they sleep. Byleth wasn’t tired, but they did have a big fight coming up. And really, how could he say no to laying next to Seteth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I remember everything about the Nemesis fight lol its been almost two months.


	44. Chapter 44

They were faster than they anticipated. 

The horns sounded early in the morning. The sun had just begun its climb into the sky, bringing light onto the field. 

Byleth’s hand was on his sword before he could even sit up. Seteth took another moment to blink awake before he was aware of what was happening. By the time both of them stumbled out of their tent, the rest of the army was too.

As they stumbled out, armor half on, the first wave of undead creatures hit them. They were weak, Byleth’s sword cutting through them with ease. They were mindless, slow. These were just a fear tactic and bodies to pad out a force. 

As the first wave died out, falling and crumbling into the soggy dirt below, a menacing presence washed across the field. Byleth looked up to see the main force stepping into view. 

Eleven bodies. 

“The Ten Elites….” Claude muttered beside him. “We… have their names.” He glanced over to a few of his friends. “I really thought they were nothing more than a legend.” 

“They were very real.” Seteth told him. “But they were far from what history sees them as.” 

“It doesn’t matter.” Byleth’s eyes locked on Nemesis. “We have a job to do.” 

His skin was flaking off, dirt and bugs in his beard. Truly an undead monster. They were a whole field apart, but he could hear Nemesis’ awful crackling laugh. If he had been anyone else, it would have set his skin on edge. 

But he wasn’t. 

He was instead, eerily calm. His head hadn’t been this quiet since before he came to the monastery. He had a single goal. 

Nemesis was going back in the ground today. 

He knew Seteth’s hand was on his shoulder, saying something, but all he could see was Nemesis’ face across the field. He raised his hand to single the soldiers behind him to start attacking. 

They quickly found out Nemesis could not be taken out until the risen ten elites were gone. So, they changed course, taking them out one by one. Each of them lived up to their names. 

They were tough, experienced warriors, with mock weapons that were remarkably similar to the Hero’s Relics they wielded. They could almost be mistaken for the true thing. 

At some point, the rain started again. Byleth didn’t notice when. The drops made no impact on his face, and his ears were focused solely on his enemies’ footsteps. He was still far too calm, and that itself almost set him on edge, but he just left it. If that was what he needed, he wouldn’t fight it.

As Byleth retracted his sword out of the chest of one of them, he couldn’t recall which one, a dark brown liquid poured of the whole in its chest, covering the swampy grass. He could hear Hilda behind him saying how gross it was. 

He checked around real fast before kneeling down to get a better look at it. It looked to be eating through the grass where it fell, before melting into the soil underneath. The body still stood, but was motionless again. 

“We can’t touch that stuff.” Byleth shouted behind him. “It’s some kind of acid.” 

He got back on his feet and used the Sword of the Creator to knock the lifeless body over, watching it crumble to dust at his feet. It was unsettling, watching an already dead man turn to dust. Even the dust didn’t stay there long.

“Like he was never there….” Claude muttered next to him. 

“Let’s keep moving.” 

He nodded, avoiding the area where the Elite had fallen. 

Each of them was harder than the last, like they were taking the energy and power from their fallen comrades. But they finally fell the last of them. 

Byleth turned to Nemesis. He raised his sword, leveling it at him. 

Nemesis cackled, waiting for him to approach him. “You are all so weak! You could not take me on your own!” 

Byleth just shrugged, approaching him. Did what an undead monster think of him and his students really matter? 

“What, can you not talk?” Did he really have to laugh after every sentence? Byleth just stared at him from the hilt of his sword. “Perhaps you are trying to put on a brave face!” 

“Do you always talk so much?” Byleth found himself muttering, barely audible over the rain. 

But Nemesis heard him and his face darkened. “I will annihilate you.” 

His sword shot forward, Byleth easily deflecting it with his own. The strike had a lot of weight behind it, and in the mud, it was hard to keep his footing, but he managed. Byleth stayed back, waiting to see how Nemesis moved with his sword. Every time he threw it out, he laughed, if you could call it that. 

He held that sword in a way that made him think of someone pulling another’s arm to control them. Like it wasn’t his, he was just forcing it to work. His strikes still held power, and he was obviously a very skilled swordsman, but he wasn’t connected to the sword at all. 

Byleth finally had an opening, ducking under another strike and swinging up under his arm. The strike mad Nemesis stumble a bit in the mud, but he stayed standing, bringing his elbow down. Byleth moved just in time for it strike his non-dominant shoulder. It would bruise, but his focus on the fight dulled the pain. 

The two clashed swords, Byleth’s burning in his hand. Nemesis was bigger than him, his strikes coming from far above Byleth’s head. He was used to bigger opponents, but fighting a copy of his Sword of the Creator proved challenging like this. 

As Nemesis swept his arm up to strike again, an arrow pierced the air beside Byleth’s head, piercing Nemesis in the ribs. He stepped back, free hand coming to the arrow. 

Byleth glanced behind him, seeing Claude with his bow pointed toward them. He gave him a grin, reaching into his quiver for another.

He turned back to Nemesis to see him yank the arrow of his gross decaying skin, that awful liquid pouring out. “So you cannot fight me alone? Pathetic.” 

Byleth didn’t answer, he just swing his sword into the opened wound, putting his weight behind it. Nemesis grunted and stumbled back. The mud made it difficult for either of them to get their footing. 

Claude kept firing arrows at opportune times, never hitting a vital point of Nemesis’, assuming he still had them. But it was just enough to distract him and give Byleth an opening to deal a blow. 

The fight wore on, Nemesis continuing with his big heavy swings. Byleth remained on the defensive, just blocking and striking whenever he could, but he was starting to wear down. 

He began to wonder if Nemesis could even get tired. He was undead, kept standing by some strange magic. Would it wear off at some point? 

And then he saw it. The opening he needed. 

That fluid that leaked from the many arrow wounds Claude had given him was flowing down his sword arm, forcing him to grip harder on his sword, and occasionally change his grip. 

And as Claude fired another arrow into his shoulder, Byleth went for his sword hand. 

The Sword of the Creator slid through his rotten flesh like butter, severing the hand completely. As it hit the grass below them the sword disintegrated. Nemesis roared, lunging at him.

Byleth stepped out of the way and wrapped his sword around Nemesis’ ankles, tugging and throwing him the ground. He hit the ground with a thud and Byleth quickly retracted the sword and stepped forward into the final blow, taking his head. 

Nemesis’ body turned to ash before them. The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh, the rain doing nothing to cover it. Byleth had to step back as he watched the ash and fluid slowly disappear into the ground below them. 

An arm came around his shoulder. He turned to see Claude beaming at him. 

“We did it, Teach!”

“We did.” 

He could hear cheering behind them, but he couldn’t take his eyes from the spot where Nemesis had been.

“Thank you, Claude.”

“Hey, what are friends for! Now, let’s get back to the monastery.” He took his arm back and turned to the crowd. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a party!” The crowd roared louder, falling behind Claude. 

Byleth brought his sword up to his face. The red glow it gave off during battle had faded, as it always did. To think, that madman had once held it. And now he was slain by it. By him. The man who had been forced into a goddess’ role he could never fill.

The spot where his heart was was oddly warm, matching the sword’s temperature. It had always felt alive and right in his hand, but now he felt like it was truly his. 

He turned away from the spot, looking to where the soldiers had followed Claude. Seteth was standing toward the back of the pack, watching him with Flayn cheering at his side with the others. 

He raised his hand to wave at them, smiling softly. Seteth waved back, his face warm.

Now, they just had to figure out how to clean up this mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Typically I love writing action scenes but idk dudes. This one kinda sucked to write. IDK but the war is over! I'll probably do a few more chapters to wrap things up all nice and pretty but idk how many more. Preferably this'll be done by the time Pokemon comes out lol


	45. Chapter 45

The next few days were loud. The monastery was plastered with banners bearing his crest and students and soldiers cheering about every little thing. The dining hall was flooded with food. Claude wasn’t kidding about the party. 

Part of it didn’t feel real. Byleth watched most of the festivities from a distance. Despite everything, he still wasn’t much for parties. They were loud and there were too many people to deal with all at once. But he was glad the others were enjoying it. 

Someone had found some fireworks and were shooting them over the pond, lighting up the sky. They were visible from the stairs in front of his room, so he stayed there to watch them. A few others were watching by the dormitories too, chatting with their friends and cheering every time one went up. 

Sitting back on his steps, he brought back Claude’s idea of him ruling over the new united Fodlan. It didn’t seem as extreme as he had previously thought. There were plenty of people in Fodlan more experienced at governing land and people, but somewhere in the back of his head he knew it had to be him. 

Maybe that small voice was Sothis, yelling at him to stop being lazy like she used to. He knew she’d never speak to him again, but now that he knew everything about her, and had had time to heal from her loss, he knew she wasn’t truly gone. Just silent. Like he used to be. 

And perhaps, now that Nemesis was truly gone, she could be in peace. Maybe Rhea could as well. Her health as coming back up and Flayn was hopeful she’d make a full recovery. He was glad for Seteth and Flayn, who wouldn’t lose yet another family member, but part of him was still bitter and angry at her. 

He knew it was fine, it was justified, but he hated to be mad at someone Seteth held close. He knew the tension between himself and Rhea gave him grief, but he couldn’t help but continue to be angry. 

But the church was greatly weakened in the hearts of the people. And he wouldn’t let Rhea try to sway him on any decisions, now that he had decided to go with Claude’s idea. She had never really had much control over him to begin with. 

Maybe after all this she wouldn’t even try. Maybe she would even step down. He hadn’t talked to her since before they left to fight Nemesis. But she seemed exhausted. 

If the truth ever got out about who he was, he was sure the church would dissolve completely and form under his rule anyway. He was already a fabled hero because of his crest. They hung it as their war banner, and now it was going to be the symbol of a new kingdom as well. 

The fireworks started to die off, some of the others going back inside or heading to the dining hall to continue celebrating, leaving Byleth in silence to stare up at the night sky. 

He hadn’t been to his favorite stargazing spot in almost six years now. Since his father died. The sky was clear and the moon was waning, giving spotlight to the rest of the sky. He should go tonight.

He just had to find Seteth first. 

He stood up and went inside to grab his coat, just in case. As he swung it over his shoulders, the glint of the ring his father had left him caught his eye from his desk.

Was this a good time? Byleth didn’t think so, with nothing else settled besides the fighting, but maybe he would just carry it with him. As something to hold on to to get him through this political renewal. 

He held it in his hand. It probably wouldn’t even fit Seteth’s finger. He had big hands, but someone once said it was the thought that counted. He didn’t know about that, but he did know it was more of a gesture than anything. 

He slid it in his pocket, trying not to think about it now that it was there. No one had ever told him anything about marriage or engagement. And he probably wasn’t even ready for it. He had just developed emotions two years ago, if you didn’t count the time he was asleep. That was too soon. 

As he stood at his desk, trying to clear his thoughts of that, there was a knock at the door. 

Opening it, Seteth was there, dressed down for the evening in just a collared shirt and some loose pants. Byleth had to focus on his face to keep from looking down at the deep neck of the shirt. 

“I was just coming to find you.” Byleth said.

Seteth rose an eyebrow. “You were?”

He nodded. “I thought it was a good time to take you to my favorite stargazing spot.” 

Seteth nodded and Byleth reached for his hand to lead him through the monastery. 

The hill he liked so much was in the forest, in a spot that was technically forbidden, but Jeralt had never cared too much about that. He often scoffed at the idea of the Church stopping him from doing something.

“Byleth, you know this place is meant to be off-limits, correct?”

He just nodded. “What can they do? Fire me?” The idea was ridiculous. He hadn’t worked for the Church in ages. 

“I suppose not. But still, it was dangerous out here.”

“Was.” Although he had never encountered anything more than a large squirrel out here. 

Seteth fell silent after that, just letting Byleth lead him through the trees. 

Finally, he saw the trees opening up. 

“We’re here.”

Seteth looked around. The hill was small, but rose upwards quite a bit. It was more of a manmade dirt pile covered in grass than a true hill. It rose almost to the treetops with a few small wildflowers blooming around the peak. 

“When we first came here, Dad brought me out when I was overwhelmed with the amount of people there were.” Byleth explained, beginning their hike to the top. “He never told me how he found it, but we came out here quite a bit for a while.” 

“It’s beautiful.” 

“I’ve been in fields all over Fodlan but this one has the best view of the stars I’ve ever seen.” Byleth came to the top and sat down, pulling Seteth with him. “It feels the closest to them.” 

A small breeze picked up, rustling the trees and pushing the wildflowers around. Byleth was glad there wasn’t a cloud in sight. He didn’t want anything to take away from the specks of light dotting the sky. 

“When was the last time you were here?” 

“Before the Battle of the Eagle and Lion.” One of the last times he and his father got to spend any stretch of time together. 

“You didn’t come after Jeralt….”

Byleth shook his head. “It was busy and confusing. And sad.” 

“Right.” Seteth glanced away. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

“I’m fine. It’s been a long time now.” Most of the cripple sadness he felt had faded into something more manageable now. He missed his father, but he could exist without him. 

Seteth fell silent, watching the sky with Byleth. Their hands joined and Byleth felt Seteth’s thumb running over his knuckles, as they often did. Seteth had always been one for touching any part of his skin. His hands, his shoulders if he wasn’t wearing armor, and especially his face. 

“I know I’ve only said it a few times, Seteth, but I love you.” In fact, he was sure he had only said it when they were naked in bed together. 

Seteth turned to look at him. “I know you do. You may not speak your feelings often, but I can read them on your face.” There was that gentle hand on his face. “And I’m sure you wouldn’t let me touch you like this if you didn’t.” 

“Probably not.” 

Byleth hated to break the mood, but he needed Seteth to know about his decision on Claude’s idea. “I’m going to do it.”

“What?”

“Govern over Fodlan.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad.”

“You are?”

“I told you before I could think of no one better to lead the people, didn’t I?” He had. “I’m glad you have realized this is something you were meant to do.” His smile was soft, just the way Byleth liked. “And Flayn and I have also made our decisions.”

Decisions. As in more than one. 

“Flayn longs to see the world. And now that those who once pursued her are gone, she will be… mostly safe. She has also made… friends… with one of the knights, and he wishes to go with her. So, she will at least be safe.” 

So Flayn was finally getting the freedom she wanted. Byleth smiled. “She’d be safe on her own too. She can fight.” 

“I know, but she is….”

“I know, Seteth. But she has to grow up some time.” 

“Yes…. She promised to visit me at least once a year.” He took a steadying breath. “And I… had been counting on you to make that decision. I had hoped you would agree to let me be something of an… advisor. I’m familiar with the faithful of Fodlan and could serve as something of an ambassador between the Church and your rule. To aid you in your decisions.” 

“You want to be an advisor?” 

“I’m quite good at paperwork.” 

“Okay then.” Byleth shrugged. “But… what about Rhea?” 

“She has decided to lessen the Church’s influence over the land. She realizes her overreaching is what started the war and caused her to make many mistakes with other’s lives. She won’t be stepping down, but she will restructure the Church. And I… have had my fill of working with her.” 

“But she’s your sister.” 

“She is. But that doesn’t excuse her.”

Fair enough. 

“We are decided then?” Seteth’s voice was filled with hope. 

“I guess we are.” Byleth moved in to kiss his cheek. “I’m glad you want to come with me.” 

“I doubt I could live without you now.” 

They had been stargazing plenty of times, and plenty of those times had turned into just kissing in the dark alone, but here, in his favorite spot, with so many stars and the weight of the war finally lifted from both of them, it was so much sweeter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOY HOWDY! 
> 
> Alright so i've decided we'll have ONE MORE CHAPTER. As a sort of Epilogue type deal. BUT HAVE NO FEAR FRIENDS!
> 
> I have like 3 other ideas for M!Byleth/Seteth. The Stardew AU i mentioned a while ago, a collection of one shots following this story, AND a sort of star-crossed lovers things set in Crimson Flower. I WILL flood the world with gay Setleth fics. I will. Its my destiny.
> 
> Hope ya'll enjoy!


	46. Chapter 46

“Hey dad, happy birthday. I know I’m a day early, but I gotta fly back to Enbarr soon. I didn’t ask Seteth if I could borrow his wyvern. And tomorrow is my coronation party.” Byleth sighed. “You know how I feel about parties.” 

The monastery was empty. Most of the nuns and knights had all gone to Enbarr to help prepare the celebration as an act of good will. Rhea had gone with them. Byleth was glad he had no risk of running into anyone else today. Tomorrow would be rough enough. 

“All my old students are coming in for it.” It hadn’t been that long, but they had lives to get back to. 

Recovering after the war took months. Getting all the necessary documents and things in place had been one of the most boring things in the world, but he had agreed to it. Seteth and Claude had stayed by him through everything, even though Claude was planning his transition back to Almyra as well. 

He wasn’t as savvy as Claude, but most nobles cowered at his dead stare. And no one said no to a war hero. 

“Did I mention Seteth is teaching me to fly?” He almost laughed. “It’s kind of the worst.” He didn’t care for it but it was fast. It was better with Seteth, but everything was. Seteth was just so in control and always looked so at peace in the sky. 

“I have to give a speech.” Byleth shook his head. “I’m more of a short phrase guy.” His dad knew that. That’s why he never needed much explanation from him.

He glanced up at the sky, the sun was getting fairly high in the sky. If he was going to get back before his party, he had to leave soon. 

“Part of me thought about moving your grave. But mom’s here, and we never really had a home anyway.” He reached out to touch the gravestone. “I guess it’s close enough…. I’ll just have to visit.” 

Seteth’s wyvern cried out behind him, wings flapping restlessly. Byleth turned back to look at him. “Yeah, I know, we need to go.” He stood up, brushing the grass off his pants. “Bye dad.” 

\---

It was early morning when he arrived. The sun hadn’t even come up. Byleth wasn’t a fan of the whole enormous palace thing, so he had insisted his personal quarters be in a average sized house across town. It had a ridiculous yard, one Seteth’s wyvern seemed to quite enjoy, and it quickly wandered of to do its own thing while Byleth walked in the backdoor. 

The house was quiet, as it usually was. It was only loud if Flayn or someone else came to visit. Of course, Flayn was asleep right now, as anyone would be. 

Byleth walked into the room he and Seteth shared, Seteth asleep on their bed, chest slowly rising and falling. He sat down on the bed, taking his boots off.

Laying down, he put his arm over Seteth, pulling himself close. Seteth tended to sleep on his back, letting Byleth lay on his shoulder. 

“You’re back.” Seteth sleepily blinked and stretched before putting his hand on Byleth’s head, running through his hair.

“Yeah.”

“Where’d you go? Your note didn’t say.” 

“The monastery. To see my dad.” 

“Oh. I would have gone with you if you asked.” 

Byleth shook his head. “No, I wanted to be alone.” 

“Okay.” Seteth’s eyes closed again. “You should sleep before the ceremony.” 

Byleth didn’t answer, just pulled the blanket and Seteth closer. 

\---

He didn’t know how long he slept, but next thing he knew the sun was in his eyes and Seteth was shaking him awake. 

“Flayn made breakfast.” 

Oh no. “Tell her I’m still sleeping.” Byleth rolled over and closed his eyes again. 

“Byleth, please. You can’t just sleep through your coronation. And Flayn has gotten better at cooking. Mildly.” Seteth wasn’t lying but going from absolutely awful to just plain bad still meant bad food. At least they didn’t get sick anymore. 

“Watch me.” 

He could almost hear Seteth’s exhausted expression. He heard his footsteps go back to their door and down the hall. Sighing, he relaxed again. He knew Seteth would be back again, But his trip to the monastery was long and he was tired. 

Instead of Seteth, it was Flayn. 

“Professor!” She still insisted on calling him that. “Did father tell you I made breakfast? It’s a trout that I caught!” She started going on about how she caught it and how she figured out how to cook it. 

Byleth held back the groan he wanted to give at being woken up. “Is that so?” He reluctantly sat up. 

“Where did you go for three days? Father didn’t tell me! I was so excited to see you but you were gone!” 

“I went to visit my dad.”

“Oh! Did you have a nice time?” 

“Sure.” Surrendering himself to Flayn’s continuous talking, he got out of bed. 

The second he stepped into the kitchen, Seteth was telling him all the things he had to do to get ready for the day. Go to the palace and get his ceremonial dress on, get the speech from the writer, give the speech to him so he could make sure it was okay, look over the speech, basically just speech things. Seteth worried about his speaking abilities.

“What if I don’t do the speech?” 

“You have to. Every leader of anything gives one. Didn’t you give one when you took over the Golden Deer class?”

“No. I just stared at them for thirty minutes.” Flayn giggled behind them. 

“I find that hard to believe.” 

“Ask Claude.” 

Seteth narrowed his eyes. “Why are you being so difficult? You agreed to this.”

“To leading a nation. Not to giving useless speeches.” Byleth took the cup Flayn gave him. She was at least decent at making tea. “And I’m tired.” 

“Well, perhaps you shouldn’t have taken my wyvern for three days, without asking, and flown nonstop.” 

Byleth just shrugged, sitting at the table. The food Flayn had made only looked mildly poisoned. He could usually eat just about anything, but Flayn’s cooking tested him every time. 

Seteth let it go, sitting across from him to eat as well. Flayn joined them, telling them about her recent trip to one of the old Kingdom territories. Byleth had to hold back his laughter every time she mentioned her friend, watching Seteth grind his teeth. 

They were truly just friends. Seteth just hated the idea of anyone who could potentially hurt her. The boy was fine, though. A picture of what a knight was supposed to be. He’d get used to it. 

After breakfast, Seteth dragged him out to the palace. Crowds were already gathering in the streets, banners hanging from every lamp post in the city. The Crest of Flames shone in bright gold, waving in the slight wind they had. While it was still weird to see, part of him had detached himself from the symbol. They weren’t in a war anymore. Did a Crest really mean anything? 

A lot of the palace was under reconstruction. With Byleth refusing to live there, many other government officials had taken up residence there to be close to the planning. It was still beautiful built, but many rooms had been repurposed. 

Getting dressed in the heavy robes was an ordeal. He didn’t even have Seteth to talk to anymore as he had run off with Flayn for final preparations. All he had was the attendant, who was too nervous to even look him in the eye. Not that he cared. He could use some quiet time before all this. 

He was supposed to go right up to the balcony after he was dressed, but he ducked into the room that was supposed to be his office first. 

The decorators had gone overboard, plastering his Crest all over. The drawers had it carved in, the rug was woven with it, it was overkill. He’d change it after everything was over, but for now he just went to the desk and shuffled through the useless papers and trinkets he’d put in there to throw anyone off. 

Mainly Seteth.

He pulled out his dad’s ring. He used to carry it in his pocket all the time, but with all the scheduling and planning for this coronation event, he had a feeling a good time wouldn’t come until after it. 

And he wanted to test the waters. Sure, he and Seteth worked great together and spent a lot of time together, but he had been hesitant to move in with him. Seteth had come up with plenty of excuses why it was “improper” and other nonsense, in Byleth’s opinion. Everyone who mattered knew they were together. 

But he had finally agreed to it. And after a few weeks of living together, he finally actually settled in too. They set up a room for Flayn whenever she came by. They built a nice wooden shelter for Seteth’s wyvern to curl up in at night. Domestic life was very different from anything he had done before, but he liked waking up next to Seteth every day. 

And it was probably time he gave this ring to him. He knew it wouldn’t fit, and part of him didn’t like the idea of a jeweler changing anything about something that meant so much to his dad, so he’d also bought a small chain he tucked in there with it. Neither of them cared for jewelry much anyway. 

He quickly hurried out of the room and went to the balcony. 

\---

Seteth was fretting over the speech, like expected. The chatter from the enormous crowd floated up to the balcony room. Byleth just sat in the corner, watching Seteth pace back and forth, tossing orders to various people in the room. He was always good at organizing these kinds of things. 

He hardly noticed when Claude came in the room to join them.

“Hey, Teach!” He sat next to him to watch the scramble. “Big day, huh?”

“I guess.”

“I’m gonna say from that short answer, you’re nervous.” He was teasing.

“I’m not.” 

Claude laughed. “If you say so.”

The two fell into a companionable silence for a while before a retainer informed him it was time. 

Byleth just nodded and headed toward the big glass doors. The speech he’d been given was long winded and a lot of pandering to people. He had already decided he was just going to say what he wanted before all this, but the nobles around him had insisted on this speech being written.

But now that he was out on the balcony, alone, no could really stop him. 

He started off by saying speeches were pointless, which was ironic, since this was technically a speech anyway. The people knew him, they knew what he was capable of. That’s all he really needed to say. 

When he was done, the people cheered. It was delayed, though, as if they expected it to be longer. But when he stopped talking for a good few seconds, they realized it was already over. 

He could almost hear the speech writer groaning inside, along with a few nobles on the floors below. No one was making a talker out of him, no matter his position. 

After he bowed to the people, more applause rising up, he ducked back inside. That was that. 

Seteth was glaring at him, but it was with that familiar “I have to pretend to be stern with you” look. The look he often gave him back at the monastery when they were just becoming friends, and a look that had resurfaced here at the palace when nobles expected Seteth to control Byleth’s behavior. 

Claude was laughing in his corner, clapping along with the civilians outside.

“Gotta say, Teach, I should have seen that coming. A thirty second speech about a new nation? Impressive.” 

“I’m not a talker.” 

“And the whole hiring a speech writer thing? Brilliant.” 

“I didn’t hire him.” 

Seteth cleared his throat. “Byleth, please.” 

He just shrugged.

“Well, it’s over. Now all we have left is the crowning at the party tonight.” Seteth ushered him back out the door and down the stairs to change again. At least he didn’t have to keep wearing this enormous robes.

\---

Nobles were messy drunks. He had had more than ten drinks nearly spilled on him already and the sun had barely dipped below the horizon.

Everyone wanted to dance with him. He was still bad at dancing but he could at least appear to be semi competent now. He didn’t crush in poor noblewoman’s feet anyway. 

The suit that had been made for him was fitted, almost too much so. He missed his long cloak with the sleeves cut for his arms, billowing around him and his armor. 

Seteth found him sitting at a table in the corner a few hours into the party. He was twirling a glass of champagne around, seeing how fast he could spin the liquid without it sloshing over the edge. 

“Are you enjoying your party?” He sat next to him.

“Sure.”

“Why not?” Of course he could see through that.

“I don’t like parties, Seteth. You know that.” 

Seteth sighed. “I know.” He reached out to stop the spinning glass. “I was just hoping that because it was for you, you’d change your mind.” 

Byleth stood up, taking Seteth’s hand with him. “Come on.” 

The party was being held outside in the gardens. With the stars and the moon and the beautiful paper lanterns lighting the scene, it was almost like a storybook painting. The lights played on the bright green leaves of the bushes and orange and reds of the blooming flowers.

It was a bit late in the season for them to bloom, but by some miracle they had stayed long enough for this party. 

Byleth lead Seteth though the party, ducking under drunken nobles waving their arms about, and stepping over screaming noble children, upset they couldn’t have their fourth sweet of the night. They weaved around the dance floor, avoiding his old students and the band. 

“Where are you taking me, Byleth? You can’t leave the party yet—”

“We’ll come back in a minute.” Byleth stopped, pushing a bush’s leaves back to reveal a small opening, just big enough for an adult man to crawl through. Byleth nodded Seteth through first, following close behind.

On the other side, the party could still be heard, but they were far enough away now it was easier to talk. And to not be heard. 

“I found this when they wanted me to move here.” Byleth pointed to the flowerbeds in front of them. “I planted new flowers.” 

They were a kind that glowed a soft blue on nights like these. The blooms were full and bright, lighting the path where the party lanterns couldn’t reach.

“They’re beautiful.” Seteth reached down the stroke the stem of one. “I always forget you like to garden….” 

Byleth shrugged. “I just like routine.” 

Seteth stood and met his eyes. Byleth could tell he was trying to think of words for something, but couldn’t tell what. 

“Byleth, listen, I—” 

He didn’t know what came over him but before Seteth could say anything, Byleth pulled out the box he had deep in his suit pocket. He held it in his open hand, offering it to Seteth.

Seteth’s brow furrowed, but he took it, opening the box anyway. He blinked a few times before looking back to Byleth.

“What… do you know what this means?”

“Marry me?” That wasn’t really the reaction he wanted. Maybe he did this wrong. Every time he tried to research how to propose, he got too embarrassed and had to close whatever book he was reading. 

Seteth chuckled, pulling the ring from the box. “Typically, dear, you get down on a knee and give them the ring.” He held it up the moonlight. 

“Oh.” Byleth looked away. 

“It’s funny. I was thinking the same thing.” Seteth set the ring back in the box for a moment, reaching into his own pocket. “But after I saw you moping around back there, I thought perhaps tonight wasn’t a good time. I was going to wait another couple months for our anniversary.” He pressed the box into Byleth’s hand. 

“You mean?” 

“My answer is, of course, I would love to marry you, Byleth.” 

Byleth could do nothing against the smile that found his face. He clutched Seteth’s box in his hand, having to stop himself from literally jumping up. Had he ever been this happy? 

“Really?” 

“Of course.” Seteth reached out to hold his face. “How could I not?” His eyes darted down to the box in Byleth’s hand. “But you haven’t opened yours.” 

Right. Byleth popped the box open. A beautiful dark blue ring sat in the middle of it, small floral etchings engraved in the band. There was no stone, but that was perfect. Something simple and dark, just like he liked. 

“Wow….” 

“I had your favorite flower engraved into it. I knew you wouldn’t like a stone, but a plain ring is hardly worthy of an engagement ring. But I also had decided to give myself a few more month to plan this, so I might have changed my mind.” And now Seteth was doing his rambling. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, it was easy to see he was Flayn’s father. 

“Seteth, I love it.” 

“I love you.” Seteth leaned down to catch Byleth’s lips in a short kiss. 

“I love you too.” 

“Now, I suppose we have to plan for a wedding party, don’t we?”

Byleth groaned. Another party. Hooray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap, folks! 
> 
> This is the first fic I've completed, that wasn't a one shot, in quite a while. And never one as long as this one turned out to be. Thanks to everyone who read and gave kudos and comments. I love all of you! 
> 
> It'll be a while, but the sequel/missing scenes fic will probably start with sappy wedding things. If there's something (sfw or otherwise lol) you'd like to see in that fic, please hit me up on my tumblr or twitter! Or comment on this fic, that works too~
> 
> I have a lot of plans for the Stardew one, so I have to organize those thoughts before I can write that story, so look forward to that as well! 
> 
> tumblr: @myswordhandtwitches  
twitter: @snick_snack_
> 
> Thanks again for joining me!


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